Saijaku Muhai no Shinigami
by ZeroContext
Summary: With Terumi defeated, Ragna takes his leave from the stage only to be thrown on to another... one that he'd never expect. - Closely follows the story of the original but Ragna replaces Lux with additional character arcs and altered events -
1. From One Life to the Next

**Edit: Re-uploading due to a few edits, including music cues ^_^ Hope you enjoy :)**

 **I don't own Blazblue or Undefeated Bahamut! This is purely for fun!**

Yuuki Terumi, the Black Susanoo, had finally been defeated at the hands of his arch-enemy Ragna the Bloodedge. With his victory, Ragna finally reclaimed the one thing that had started his entire journey: his family but not without a price. He had lost many people along the way. Some dead, some missing. Some he wished to see one last time and others he would've given anything in the world just to deck one last time. With the sweet taste of victory on his lips, the SS-class criminal stood tall.

But something wasn't right.

Ragna realized it personally. So as long as he existed, so as long as he held the Azure Grimoire, the catalyst for the Black Beast, the world would never be able to move forward. It would forever be stuck in a never-ending loop of misery and despair, no matter how far the world had progressed.

Faced with a choice, he did what he knew would ensure a future for the world that he wanted to protect: deleting himself from history. Leaving behind his brother, sister, friends and enemies for the better good.

Content with his decision, Ragna made his way to the Gate only to meet with a strange androgynous man by the name of Amane. After a short talk, all but the sword known as Blood- Scythe remained of the man known as the Grim Reaper.

Ragna could feel nothing as he stepped through the Gate.

Nothing besides the sensation of a never-ending free-fall…

Falling…

Falling…

Falling...

That was until he collided with something.

Hard.

 _Ugh, what the hell did I fall on?!_

The last thing Ragna remembered was falling into darkness yet his eyes shot open and what he saw was blinding light. He could feel that his arms and legs were wet, steam covering his skin. With his eyes taking a moment to adjust to the light, he was able to see the situation he had been thrown, rather dropped, into.

The first thing that he noticed was that he was on his hands and knees, half submerged in warm water and straddled over something. A rather odd position to land in. What Ragna noticed next was that he was not wearing his signature blood red jacket, rather a short-sleeved, tan vest leaving his arms exposed. Much to his surprise, his arms weren't jet-black or prosthetic, something he had become accustomed to seeing on a regular basis. The arms he had were natural, his own. Hanging above his peripheral was his hair but instead of the silver hair he found that it was his natural color: blonde.

Taking in the information, whilst his mind was racing at a thousand thoughts and a second, Ragna finally decided to look up.

He seemed to be in some sort of bathing room. Not just any bathing room, a public bath house… for women. Full of women. It was around this moment that Ragna wholeheartedly regretted telling Rachel that he wanted to have a harem as a joke. Even though Ragna had been in more than his fair share of crappy situations, nothing he had been through held a candle to his current position. With a hard gulp, the Reaper looked up slowly to see that he indeed fell right over a woman.

A naked woman.

She appeared to be in her mid to late teens. If Ragna had to guess, probably sixteen. In the back of his mind, he could hear the name "Lolita lover-edge" being called from some distant place. The girl had a thin, petite frame, almost seeming fragile. Her long blonde hair reflected the light of the bathhouse brilliantly, almost blinding the former rebel as he studied her face and her fair features. The girl's face flushed red, which contrasted with her rather pale skin, with the sudden interruption of Ragna falling through the bathhouse. However, the thing that caught the his attention the most were here deep crimson eyes.

His eyes met hers and hers met his.

Ragna wasn't the sharpest but if he could tell anything about the girl, it would be, without a doubt in his mind, that she was absolutely **livid**.

Time seemed to stop for the briefest moment. The only sound that could be heard were the fragments of the roof falling into the water,

Mind still racing, Ragna tried to think of a way to ease the situation.

 _Think dammit, think!_

In the past, Ragna had a decent streak of luck when it came to defusing tense situations with words alone. Most notable when he prevented Celica, his adopted mother, and her older sister, Konoe, known more commonly as Nine, from getting into an unnerving situation about human sacrifice when Celica tried offering her life to halt the Black Beast. But that was then.

This was now.

Trying to sound as friendly as possible, Ragna cleared his throat.

"Er, um… hi." he choked, doing his best to force a smile. The girl, still locking eyes with him, began to move her right arm back. Unfortunately for our spiky-haired friend, Ragna didn't notice that her hand was balled into a fist.

"PERVERT!" she shouted as her fist connected with the side of Ragna's skull, knocking him out cold. The last thing he saw his world faded back to black, was a strange red symbol right below the girl's navel.

* * *

All Ragna could feel was a dull aching in the side of his head.

"Dammit," he muttered. "Don't remember knocking my damn head on anything when I stepped through the Gate."

He tried to use his hand to comfort the throbbing but soon realized that his hands were suspended above him.

 _Wait a damn minute._

Ragna's eyes shot open and surveyed his surroundings in his panic. He appeared to be in a cell of some sort. The walls were made of gray stone and the usual iron bars were placed before him. From beyond the cell bars he could see light shining through the entrance, not one hundred feet from his cell.

 _Seriously? They leave the exit this close to cells?_

Looking up, he could see a small amount of light peering through the ceiling of the prison. Judging by the position of the sun, Ragna assumed it was a little bit before noon. As he looked up at the ceiling he saw his _blonde_ hair fall into his eyes. Being reminded of the sudden changes, he took notice of his arms that were locked in place by a plank of wood. They were still the same color as the rest of his skin. He opened and closed each fist just to make sure they were indeed "his" arms. Sure enough, he confirmed his suspicions but he still couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved at the sudden change. Ragna noticed that he didn't feel like he towered everybody else, even if he was on his knees. If he were to guess, he was roughly five and a half feet tall. As he started coming to his senses, he could feel how sore his body was.

 _Jeez, keep a guy rigid for an entire damn night will ya?_

Being restrained in a cell brought back bitter memories of being captured, by Kagura of all people. The first time was when he was crippled and the second being when he had amnesia. Had his arms been free, Ragna would've punched the wall.

"At least I'm not being bound by Ars.' he said bitterly.

"What is this Ars our little peeping tom is referring to?" a feminine voice said. The owner of the voice soon rounded the corner. Ragna stared at the girl as she approached the cell.

The girl wore a long-sleeved white top with a small red tie and a knee-length blue skirt. Judging by the insignias on her shoulders, it was a uniform of some sort. She had was tall and had a thin frame. As for her chest, it was flatter than most. The sudden thought made Ragna smirk as he thought back to Noel who would freak out at the slightest mention of breast sizes.

"Hm?" the girl said as she looked through the bars of the cell towards Ragna."Did you find something amusing at the mention of last nights' events?"

 _Last nights'…?_ _Oh sonuvabitch…_

Despite the internal groan, he remained silent while the girl studied him. She glared at him, piercing sky blue eyes bore into him, as if trying to force him to speak. The only thing he could do the same. Taking the chance, he looked at the girl in greater detail. The girl had long silver hair, not unlike his own, that fell over her shoulders. A thin black ribbon was tied at the top of her hair, something that reminded him of Rachel. And just like her, this girl was irritating him to no end.

"Wait." Ragna began, his anger dissipating and now being replaced with confusion. "You mean you've never heard of _Ars Magus_?" he said with an eyebrow cocked.

For him, the term "Ars Magus", referring to the combination of science and magic, was as commonplace as a greeting. It was the mysterious girl's turn to cock an eyebrow.

"Ars Magus?" the girl said, gaze still holding.

"You know," Ragna began, in a bit of an uneasy tone, "Six Heroes? Nox Nyctores? Hierarchical Cities? Seithr? Black Beast?"

The girl just gave a blank stare after he finished. After a few moments of awkward silence, the girl broke out into a fit of suppressed giggles.

"I thought you were crazy for trying to break into the girl's bath house last night but now I see that you're straight up insane."

Strangely enough, she began walking over to a crate that was tucked into the corner of the room, hidden by the shadows. Ragna noticed that there was a strange sword resting in a sheath on top of the crate. The blade wasn't large, it seemed to be a one-handed blade. The hilt was black with red highlights and the sheath itself was a light gray. The pommel was decorated with eight, small purple gems.

 _Looks like I'm a far way from home. That's good._

"Is this yours?" she asked with a quiet voice as she picked up the weapon to study it.

"The hell is that thing?" Ragna responded.

"First of all, your tact is appalling," she said in a surprisingly cold manner. It shook Ragan a bit that he was reminded of his younger brother's, Jin's, usual tone when he wasn't out to kill him. The same apathetic tone seemed to follow him wherever he went. He let out a deep sigh at the thought.

"And secondly." the girl began, ripping the criminal from his thoughts, as she began leaning her forearm against the cell bars to intimidate him. "You're going to play dumb even though you had this _Sword Device_ on your person at the time of the "incident'?" the girl said with eyes narrowed.

Ragna didn't even notice that he had anything with him. As far as he was concerned, all he had were the clothes on his back, the thought of a weapon had not crossed his mind since he left _Blood-Scythe_ at the foot of the Gate.

"I don't know what you're on about," Ragna said, looking down in order to avoid eye contact. "Never seen that damn thing in my life."

"You know," the girl said in an irritated tone "for an assassin, you are doing a very poor job at covering for yourself. Just looking at you right now, I can read you like a book."

"Assassin?! What damn language are you reading in?!" Ragna snapped with a surprising amount of malice. The sudden change in personality from the prisoner surprised the girl enough to flinch and step away from the bars. Ragna took in a deep breath.

"Look, I didn't mean to raise my voice like that." mellow in tone, "Do you have a name? It'll make things a hell of a lot easier if we can actually address each other instead of yelling back and forth." he said dryly.

Taken back at the shift in personality, the girl relaxed a bit, smiling slightly.

"Whatever, I guess I'll introduce myself first," Ragna began with a sigh. "I technically am the being interrogated here."

"The name's Ragna th-," Ragna stopped himself and cleared his throat "Ragna Kisaragi." he finished. As much as he despised the NOL, the Duodecim especially, he would have to bear the name in order to have some sort of cover.

After a few moments of unbearable silence, the girl smirked.

"I suppose you can manage to be somewhat civilized." she said. Ragna could feel his eyebrow twitch at the comment. "My name is Krulcifer Einfolk, nice to meet you Mr. Kisaragi."

"Please," Ragna said with a grimace. "Just call me Ragna." The mere mention of the name made him feel sick to his stomach.

"I hate the last name. Actually forget I said it." A request to which Krulcifer only cocked an eyebrow at.

"Oh? Already on a first name basis?" she teased. Seeing no reaction from Ragna, her smirk quickly faded.

"So you have family troubles as well?" she asked, voice void of scorn instead replaced with… sympathy?

"You don't know the half of it." Ragna said in a hushed tone. The memories of his past came flowing back to him but despite it all, the Grim Reaper found himself chuckling that grew into genuine laughter only to be followed by Krulcifer who laughed not at him, but with him.

You know what they say:

Laughter is the best medicine.

After a few moments the laughter died down. Any animosity between the two had died down as well. While it wasn't replaced with trust or camaraderie, a feeling of mutual understanding.

"So anyways..." Ragna said in a slightly better mood. "What next? I'm cramped as hell in here. Can I at least walk around or something?"

Krulcifer looked at him and put her hands on her hips. "Well I was supposed to have been followed by your escorts." she said in a cynical voice. The comment caused him to roll his

eyes but he kept listening.

'But they seem to be-" Krulcifer stopped mid-sentence by two girls, both wearing identical uniforms to that of Krulcifer's.

"Oi~!" one of the girls, a brunette, shouted as she made her way up to the two with the other, a blue haired girl, following suite.

"Did you get him to talk yet?" the blue haired girl asked Krulcifer. Before she could respond, the brunette pulled her over to the side as her voice hushed to a whisper.

"Hey Kru," the brunette whispered as she pulled Krulcifer to the side, "didn't think he'd be quite the looker. I mean, the spiky blonde hair, that rebellious scowl and those beautiful green eyes."

 _Green? Eyes? This is getting weirder by the minute..._

'Hey!" Ragna said, raising his voice slightly, causing the three to eye him. "I can answer questions too ya know and yeah… I guess she got me to talk." As he finished, he shot a glare at the silver haired girl who only winked and pressed a finger against the small smile on her lips. Ragna merely sighed and cleared his voice.

"Look, whatever you guys are here to do, escorting me or some shit like that," he began. "I'll cooperate because I'm dying just to move around so the sooner the better, I guess."

The blue haired girl sighed and brought out the key to unlock the cell.

"I'll give the headmaster a call!" the brunette said excitedly.

" _Wait? Headmaster? Where have I heard that term before?"_

For the next few moments, while the girls began to get his arms down, Ragna dug through his memory banks, trying to find where he heard the term before. With a loud clang interrupting his thoughts, the metal chains keeping Ragna's arms above fell and he too, fell at the sudden shift.

"Ah, shit…' Ragna said with a grimace. He propped himself onto one knee only to find Krulcifer giving him support. Ragna remained silent but gave her a quick nod of gratitude as he got to his feet as he started towards the entrance of his cell, his escorts close behind.

As Ragna followed continued to walk towards his yet to be named destination, he took in the scenery. The area was on a plateau and had an abundance of buildings including something that Ragna immediately realized as a colosseum. Each of the buildings followed a simplistic Greek architectural style. The sight only brought up yet another memory with Kagura. This one including a tournament with the prize money being his bounty money.

Continuing his look around, he couldn't help but notice the presence of a large city. Ragna noticed that the area was very close to the city. He could not see the presence of any vehicles, rather multiple horse-drawn carriages entering and leaving the city. Most notably, Ragna noticed the lack of the futuristic advancements he was used to, thinking back to the time he spent in Ikaruga and Kagutsuchi. While not exactly modern, the primitive nature of the area reminded him of the quiet, simple life he had with his siblings at the church. Despite himself and his position, he couldn't help but smile when recalling the memories.

"Oh?" the brunette, Tilfur, said. "Is our little deviant happily recalling last night?'

"Nah," Ragna said in a surprisingly calm tone "Just recalling a few memories."

"Still, that was pretty impressive." she started once more, "Sneaking in on the girls while the 3rd-year students are out? You've got balls of steel don't ya?"

"I guess you could say tha- wait," Ragna said, eyes widened "You didn't just say students… did you? Does that mean we're..."

Tilfur, amused at the panic in his voice, answered him with a nod.

Who knew such a simple gesture could cause someone's heart to sink?

After a short walk, the four finally arrived at a large building. Something that Ragna could only assume was some sort of learning facility. As the group continued on towards their destination, Ragna noticed something peculiar as he was seemingly paraded around the building.

Being an educational facility, one would expect it to be all-inclusive. However, that was not nearly the case. Throughout the entire time, Ragna only saw female students. The thing that caught his attention the most was the fact that many of the girls were carrying swords, similar to the one he supposedly had with him the night prior. Confused, the Reaper leaned over to Shalice, the blue haired girl.

"What the hell is this school?" he asked. The girl deadpanned at the question. Puzzled she decided to answer with another question.

"Have you never heard of the Royal Knight Academy?" she asked only for Ragna to shake his head in response.

"Seriously?" Tilfur asked. "Did you hit your head or something?"

"Something along those lines." he said dryly as the group stopped in front of a large wooden door. Ragna turned around to discover that they had been followed by a large mob of students. He only sighed at the sight.

 _When did I become some sort of circus attraction?_

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Krulcifer turn to leave. He tried to speak but she merely turned her head and mouthed the words 'good luck' before disappearing into the crowd.

"Yeah." Ragna grumbled. "Thanks for that."

"This is the place." Tilfur said quietly, moving her face closer to Ragna's. "What are you waiting for?"

"It's rude to keep a woman waiting." Sharis added plainly.

 _These girls…_

Ragna could almost feel a vein popping out of his forehead. With a sigh he entered through the doorway just like he had entered the Gate. What awaited him on the other side was not darkness but a lone woman sitting at a wooden desk, the room illuminated by the sunlight that shone through the large window pane behind her.

The woman at the desk seemed to be as old as Ragna really was, in her mid-twenties. She had medium length pink hair that rested on her left shoulder and brilliant golden eyes. Slightly uneased, Ragna shifted his footing and moved forward towards the woman. Without warning, she began to speak.

"Good morning." the woman started. "My name is Relie Eingram, the headmaster of this academy."

The woman spoke without malice and with a friendly tone. Even caring to smile at the boy in front of her. With the immediate tension of the situation dispelled Ragna, against his better judgement, decided to speak as well.

"My name is Ragna Kisaragi." the boy said nervously with a small but polite bow as he had seen many people back home do when addressing someone for the first time. "Nice to meet you headmaster Aingram."

Something in the back of his mind kept screaming at him to cut the bullshit but he figured doing his damndest to seem well-mannered would suite him for the better.

"It's nice to meet you as well." Relie said as she stood up from her desk and approached him.

Unnerved at the sudden approach, Ragna tried to move back but Relie was already upon him. At his current height, Relie was taller than him albeit by a few inches. Looking at his reflection in her eyes, he looked exactly the same, save for the hair and his eyes. However, he noticed that he looked much younger, roughly sixteen or seventeen. Taken back by the sudden change, Ragna didn't realize that his hands were free. He took a quick glance down and moved his arms as well as he could. Massaging his sore wrists, Ragna looked back towards the headmaster as she made her way back to her desk.

"Wait, you trust me enough to let me go?" Ragna asked.

"Not entirely however, I figured that getting those restraints off of you would make this situation less unnerving for you." she said with a smile.

"Right…" he responded, still skeptical, "So I'm obviously here because of the incident last night and if I were to guess, you're the one administering my punishment."

"Typically you would be correct." the woman's eyes narrowed. "This time however, I will ultimately leave that decision up to her."

 _Her?_

...

 _Oh crap._

As if summoned by his thoughts, not a second later, the doors to the room flew open as an all too familiar blonde haired girl marched into the room. This time around, she wore the school's uniform, her hair was tied into a ponytail that hung off to the side and her ruby eyes were burning with hatred. As she noticed Ragna, she regarded him with a glare that would have scared off the Black Beast and technically speaking, it wasn't too far off. Turning toward Relie the girl shouted.

"What is the meaning of this?!" she yelled, pointing towards Ragna. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"The name's Ragna, nice to meet you too." Ragna said with his arms crossed, doing his best to keep himself from exploding. The words fell on deaf ears as blonde didn't even acknowledge the introduction.

"Please calm down Lisesharte." Relie said indifferently "I figured it would be best to leave the punishment up to the victim."

Ragna's eyebrow twitched. Finally losing his patience, the boy spoke up.

"Yeah, about last night..." he said taking a deep breath to diffuse his temper. "The entire thing was an accide-."

"That's a lie if I've ever heard one!" the girl, Ragna now identified as Lisesharte, stopped him mid-sentence. Fed up overall series of events, Ragna retorted.

"God dammit listen to me for a second! I swear it was an accident!" he shouted back. "I was chasing a cat that stole a woman's purse and before I knew it, I fell into the bathhouse!"

"First off, there is no way that the bathhouse for the girl's dormitory would have such a weak ceiling!" Lisesharte snapped. "And second of all, if this were just an accident, isn't it a bit too convenient that you, armed with a weapon, fell right over someone of royal blood." she finished, arms folded across her chest.

 _Damn, guess that didn't work. Wait did she just say… royal?_

"Huh?!" Ragna shouted at the sudden realization as the princess gave a self satisfied smirk. With a sigh of exasperation, Ragna grasped his forehead as he found the strength to speak again.

"Okay, so that's why everyone was so tight-assed about this whole situation." he sighed. "Look, this was a complete accident. I'm no "peeping tom" and I sure as hell ain't a damn assassin!"

"As if anyone is going to believe that." she snorted as she turned around to leave.

 _As if anyone's going to believe that you're royalty_.

He remained silent as he watched the girl make her way towards the doorway.

"Tomorrow at noon we'll have duel. Meet me at the colosseum." she regarded him with distaste as she turned her back to him. "If I win, I will see that you're locked away for the rest of your life."

"Wait a minute, dammit!" he shouted, catching the girl's attention as she began to leave. "You tell me your conditions for winning but don't even bother asking me for mine?"

"Well obviously if I'm going against someone as barbaric as yourself, my victory is inevitable." the girl sneered. "But I guess it is only fair to hear you out."

The Reaper froze for a moment. Even though he had said it himself, he couldn't think of anything off the top of his head.

 _Shit… even if I do get off on a free rein, the hell am I supposed to do from here?_

"If Ragna does win," Relie spoke up, "I will personally employ him here."

"What?!" Ragna, Lisesharte and the mob crowding the doorway yelled simultaneously.

"Well Ragna doesn't appear to have anywhere to go so," the headmaster said as she stood up from her desk. "I believe that if he does emerge victorious, it is only fitting to reward him with a roof over his head and a stable income until he's on his own two feet. You find this agreeable, do you not Ragna?"

"Oh, so now you acknowledge me." the boy said in an irritated tone. "Yeah, I guess I don't really have anywhere to go but still…"

As much as he wanted to argue, he couldn't find any better alternatives. He could only manage a discontented sigh.

 _Dammit, this sucks._

"Fine." the words coming off like venom. "I find these terms acceptable."

Drawing the short sword that rested on her hip, she glared at Ragna, pointing the blade towards neck. Ragna continued to eye her without flinching.

 _Tch. This bitch..._

"If you lose to me, you will go to jail as a criminal. If you win, you may be acquitted and may work here! Got it?"

"You're on."

The two locked eyes for a moment, as if they were trying to get the other to back down. Breaking off from the glare, Lisesharte's scowl became a wry smirk.

"Tell this to the entire academy!" Liseshart exclaimed as she turned to address the crowd of students, lowering the blade and then sheathing it. "There will be an exhibition of the princess of the new kingdom personally doing away with a criminal."

With the conclusion of her announcement, the princess twirled her sword and slid it back into its sheathe as she pridefully strode away from the Reaper. Leaving only him and the headmaster once more. With the immediate issue out of the way, Ragna turned to Relie.

"So about where I'm staying until tomorrow…" his voice trailed off as he saw the woman's irked expression. Taking a deep breath, Relie called for Shalice and Tilfur and they escorted the criminal back to his cell, this time without the wooden brace on his arms.

After being left to his own devices, Ragna laid down on the hard stone. Sure, it wasn't a bed but being nomadic in nature, Ragna adapted relatively well and rather quickly to whatever he was given. But if there was one thing he could say for certain: it was much better than being prostrated for twelve hours straight.

Despite it being mid-afternoon, Ragna had nothing else to do so he vouched to sleep. As he began to close his eyes, they fell upon the Sword Device lying on the crate. Only one thought came to mind upon seeing the weapon as he slipped into unconsciousness:

 _What the hell kind of mess am I getting myself into?_


	2. Ironclad

The prisoner awoke with a yawn. Stretching out on the hard ground, Ragna heard multiple joints make a loud, uncomfortable popping noise. Flinging his upper body forward to sit up, Ragna looked out of the cell bars to catch the smallest rays of sunlight looming over the horizon.

"So it's not even morning yet, huh?" the boy said observing the vapor escaping from his mouth.

The night hadn't been the most forgiving, dropping into the high thirties. It didn't help that the opening positioned in front of his cell acted as a wind tunnel of sorts during the entirety of the night. However, given Ragna's lifestyle of always being on the run, he had experienced much worse and welcomed the cooler temperature.

Jumping to his feet, Ragna decided to stretch and get his body moving. Recalling the years of training under his master, Jubei, Ragna prepared himself for the long and grueling day that lay before him. After all, he did have a duel later that day that would potentially determine the rest of his "second" life and he wasn't about to throw it. Not if he could do anything about it.

Approximately an hour before the duel the two girls that acted as his escorts the day prior, Tilfur and Shalice if his memory served him correctly, came to retrieve him. Tilfur with her usual bubbly personality was the first to speak even before she saw him. It would be nice to say things played out that smoothly but...

"Hey Ragna! We came to make sure you wer-." the brunette stopped mid-sentence as she rounded the corner to see a shirtless Ragna, drenched in sweat, doing push-ups in the cell.

Taking a moment to observe the boy, she could see that his figure was thin but well toned, his skin was pale and reflective from the sweat. Shalice came up from behind Tilfur and was about to speak before being motioned to remain silent. Tilfur resumed stalking the blonde haired boy.

 _How long has he been at this? It's not even that hot out yet._

Lost in her own train of thoughts, Ragna finally noticed her head poking out from the frame. With eyes wide at the sudden appearance of the girl, Ragna panicked and threw on his shirt as quickly as possible.

"Ah shit!" Ragna stuttered, realizing the subtle irony of the situation. "I- uh, sorry you had to see that…"

"U-um n-no i-it's fine really! I actually was um…" Tilfur stammered as she tried to get her head straight.

"Were you in the middle of something?" Shalice asked as she stood at the entrance of the prison. Both Ragna and Tilfur answered at the same time, faces beet red.

"Nothing at all!"

"Well if you're ready, we would like to take you to the colosseum." Shalice said calmly as she unlocked the cell. "But first you are going to need to change into the appropriate combat attire."

The blue haired girl held out a small stack of garments, offering them to the boy. Resting on top was the Sword Device that had been kept near the cell all night. Gripping the sheath with his right, he noticed the similarities it had to _Blood-Scythe_ , sending a small jolt of nostalgia through him. Letting his arm fall to his side, sword in hand, Ragna quickly retrieved the clothes and followed the two girls towards the arena.

The entire way, Ragna and Tilfur remained silent, each not daring to make eye contact.

* * *

Upon reaching the facility, the three took an underground route beneath the colosseum. After venturing down a few corridors, the trio finally ended up in a type of waiting room. The two girls quickly dismissed themselves and left Ragna on his own to prepare. By the time he was finally alone, there was only an hour before the duel.

Ensuring that no one was in the vicinity, Ragna quickly stripped and changed into the combat uniform. First throwing on the pants, he couldn't help but mentally groan at the contrast of tight black material compared to his baggy hakama pants.

 _Did Jin and Noel have to deal with this type of shit with their NOL uniforms? Damn, I sorta feel bad for them._

Throwing on the top next, it was sleeveless, something Ragna didn't mind rather it was actually something he appreciated, but still made of the same tight material. It was mostly white but had black areas on the sides of the chest and continued all the way up the neck. Quickly slipping on the white sleeves, Ragna began moving around to test the flexibility. Flexing, opening and closing his palms, throwing a few punches and kicks, even doing a few short dashes, Ragna adapted to the uniform. While not completely comfortable with the tightness, he would live with it.

 _Whatever, it's just for one day._

Turning around, he noticed the lone Sword Device. Walking over to it, he snatched it up and turned to look at the clock.

 _Ten minutes left, huh? Damn didn't think changing would take that long._

With a sigh, the boy attached the blade to his belt, letting it hang off his lower back.

 _Well whatever, I guess there's no helping it. Guess I should probably start heading to the dueling field._

"After all, it's rude to keep a woman waiting." he said muttered sourly.

"Large entrance? Check. Bright ass light? Check. Crazy bitch who wants to mop the floor with me? Definite check. This should be the place." Ragna said as he approached a large opening.

The amount light pouring in was enough to make him cover his eyes. Stepping out onto the open field he was greeted with a clear view of the open air and multiple bright orange mechs positioning themselves on pillars far above the spectators. Looking across the dirt field, he eyed Lisesharte in a similar combat uniform glaring directly at him with a confident grin on her face. With one hand on her hip and the other resting on the hilt of her sword, she regarded him coldly.

"All machines, deploy barriers!" a woman commanded. As commanded, each mech held out their hands, channeling bright blue energy and projecting a large energy dome around the entirety of the field. With the preparations for the match in place, the woman over the loud speaker spoke one again.

"Both of you prepare your Machine Dragons!"

 _Dragons? What the hell? I don't see any damn dragons here._

"So you actually bothered to show?" she said in a mocking tone, something to which Ragna merely grunted at. With the stands filling up, the two became increasingly tense.

 _Seriously, the hell is with this chick? I know that I screwed up but I swear she's staring daggers into me._

"Ragna Kisaragi!" the princess shouted, interrupting his thoughts. "Do you wish to know the reason behind why I challenged you to a duel?"

"If I answered 'yes' will you piss off?"

With a chuckle the girl glared at him.

"If you win, I'll tell you."

 _And she's gonna tell me anyways. Great._

"Okay now I'm gonna make a request," Ragna began. "And since you didn't let me back outta yours, I ain't lettin you back outta mine. If by any God forsaken reason this ends in a tie, can we just forget about this past few days? They've been a feal pain in the ass."

The girl deadpanned at him. Her lips curled into a feral snarl.

'You say that even after realizing my identity?!" she shouted as se drew her sword. "Once I'm done with you, I'll make sure to shut that insolent mouth of yours for good!"

 _Well there goes Plan Y. Plan Z it is._

"AWAKEN FOUNDING ANCESTOR!" the girl chanted, raising the sword skywards. "KING OF THE DRAGON GODS THAT IS AN ARMY ITSELF! TIAMAT, CONNECT ON!"

A brilliant flash of light and a large shockwave sent dust in every which direction. Covering his eyes momentarily, Ragna lowered his arm to see what had happened. What he saw left him with a loss for words.

What stood before him was not the ill-mannered princess but instead, towering over him was a large crimson mech. The machine was bulky, large floating plates of armor were at it's side. The shoulders and legs were heavily plated as well and each section was outlined by yellow energy. A double ring-like structure floated above the machine and piloting the iron titan before him was none other the Princess Lisesharte herself, who wore a headdress the same color as her Drag-Ride.

"So what do think, pervert?" the princess sneered. "A lot different from the Drag-Rides you're used to seeing, huh?"

 _Right now is NOT the time to tell her that this is my first time seeing one._

Ragna could feel a bead of sweat run down his forehead. For him, it was like fighting a Murakumo Unit except a hundred times worse. Ragna's arm, as if by instinct, reached behind him and grabbed the hilt of his Sword Device.

 _Dear god please work!_

Not knowing what lie behind his own Sword Device let alone his Drag-Ride's name, he decided to skip the monologue and start the fight.

Following Lisesharte's example, he raised the blade high above him and shouted "Connect on!"

 _Takes notes ya masked batard._

With a similar flash of light Ragna emerged in a machine dragon of his own. His Drag-Ride was dull red, with black highlights tracing multiple areas. The machine was sleek in design and lightly armored, long wing-like protrusions extended from the shoulders and off the back, connected to a large disc-like plate. Multiple parts seemed to be folded inwards and unlike Lisesharte's Drag-Ride, it gave off no lights.

However, the thing that caught everyone's attention, Ragna included, was the weapon it held. In the machine's hands was a single, enormous two handed sword. The large curved blade was silver and the black hilt ran all the way up the back of the blade. Ragna's breath caught, if only for a moment.

"Blood-Scythe?!" Ragna yelped in surprise.

 _What's with that guy's Drag-Ride? It's definitely not a standard Wyvern or Wyrm and its far too advanced to be a Drake. So that that only leaves a Divine Drag-Ride but it's not nearly on the same level as Tiamat. A premature activation…?_

She returned to the present as she saw Ragna with the large blade ready. It was clear to see the cocky grin he wore.

"The hell you waiting for?" he taunted. "You scared?"

The princess' expression merely darkened.

"Tell me Ragna." the hushed tone set the Reaper off guard as he lowered his blade, if ever so slightly. "Did you cause a premature activation of your Drag-Ride as a handicap?"

Completely lost with half of the terminology, he smirked.

"Heh, how long did it take you to figure it out?" he bluffed.

Lisesharte's grip on Tiamat's handles tightened so much, her knuckles began to turn white. Her once confident, cocky grin turned a snarl.

"IT"S YOUR FUNERAL YOU MORON!" she shouted.

"Mock battle begin!"

(cue Blazblue - Ragna's theme "Rebellion")

Throwing out the machine's arm, Lisesharte summoned a small cannon and sent a volley of energy towards Ragna at a breakneck speed. With zero knowledge on how to pilot a machine dragon, Ragna shifted the controls in an effort to evade. Working much better than expected, the machine jerked to the left in the nick of time. Catching his breath momentarily, he had no time to react as a follow-up shot, even larger than the previous, collided with him at full force. The impact of the blast sent him tumbling.

 _How the hell am I alive after something like that?!_

Looking down at the corner of the machine's heads up display, he noticed as small gauge labelled "Barrier". Although he didn't notice it at first, he now realized that the gauge was empty.

 _I guess that'll do it. Fran-freaking-tastic. Now I just gotta not get hit during the remainder of the fight._

Struggling to get the machine to stand, Ragna used his sword as support and got to his feet. Gripping the handles and shifting his body, Ragna prepared for the next attack. Unsurprisingly, Lisesharte smirked.

"Where do you think you're looking?" she said with a vicious smirk.

Ragna, confused by the question, lowered his blade. That was until he heard a loud humming getting closer and closer.

 _Oh sonuvabitch!_

His machine leapt backwards to dodge a small volley of drones before taking to the skies. While the execution was rough, it was much better than any ametuer could manage, slowly adjusting to the Drag-Ride's movements. With the small drones following close behind, Ragna had no other option but to accelerate around the arena. Doing his best to evade the drones, Ragna attempted to formulate a plan.

"Dammit, these things are unrelenting." he muttered to himself. "If I get hit by these things, it's gonna slow me down for one and there's also _her_ to worry about."

With a quick glare to his side he saw Lisesharte aiming a full charged shot from her cannon, aiming directly at him. Ragna's eyes widened once he had figured out that he had fallen right into a trap. With little time to react, Ragna raised the flat of his blade in hopes it absorbing a majority of the damage. With a brilliant flash of light, a blast of energy was sent forwards, colliding with him head on, followed by a large explosion.

Satisfied with her work, the girl lowered her weapon. But something from within the debris and flames began moving. With a shout, Ragna boosted his Drag-Ride forward as he readied he blade.

"I'm not done yet!" he cried as he heaved the blade to bring it down upon his opponent. However, when he looked at the girl's expression, it wasn't one of surprise or fear, rather she smirked.

Ragna didn't even have time to yell as one of the drones rammed into his chest at full speed, sending him and his machine flying backwards multiple meters as it collided with the side of the arena, creating a large crater.

Over the loudspeaker, someone called for a pause on the battle as medics rushed to the field.

"Motherfu…" Ragna groaned as he attempted to get back up. His head was spinning and his ears were ringing. A dull ache crushed his chest and made it difficult to breathe. His hand moved up to grasp his forehead to comfort the the dizziness. It was wet. Looking down at his hand, he could see a deep crimson enveloping his palm. After a taking a few moments to come to his senses he could tell that a few ribs were probably broken. If that wasn't enough, his Drag-Ride was also in poor shape. The a majority of the outer armor had shattered during the impact with fragments either fractured or falling off. As the he got to his feet, he noticed that Lisesharte had landed a few yards away, looking genuinely worried.

"Hey! Are you alright?" she asked, offering a her machine's hand. Much to her surprise, Ragna's machine got up without any assistance. Looking at him, his blonde hair were stained by patches of blood, a long streak of it running down his forehead. But it was Ragna's reaction that surprised her the most.

Wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, he smirked.

"C'mon, the fight is far from over." Ragna said as he hefted his blade into a battle ready stance.

"No, this battle is over." she said, guilt stinging her voice. "I suppose I may have went a bit too far with my _Airborne Fortress_."

 _Airborne Fortress, eh? Pretty fitting name for some Goddamn kamikaze drones._

"You and your machine are in no condition to continue. If you forfeit here, I can assure you that you will get immediate medical attention and your punishment will be much more lenient."

Ragna cocked an eyebrow.

"Not a chance." he said bluntly as waved off the medical team, readying his sword.

"For me at this point, I don't even care about the punishment." he siad as he planted the blade of his sword into the ground. "As for the injuries, I've sustained worse. All I care about is seeing this damn thing through."

Lisesharte raised her hand to protest but Ragna cut her off.

"Also, don't apologize my behalf. I used to know someone who was a complete crybaby and apologized for everything even if it wasn't her fault." referring to Noel, he pointed a finger towards his opponent. "I was the one who was reckless so don't apologize on my behalf, idiot."

"I see." the girl said as Ragna returned his attention back to his opponent. "It looks like you're not just a fool. You're a big fool." Giving him the first genuine smile he'd seen since the two met, she readied her weapon. Ragna returned a small smile himself, not cocky but defiant.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Ragna replied, flicking some of the blood off of his hand from earlier. "But just because I have one foot in the grave doesn't give you an excuse to hold back on me."

"It would be an insult to you if I did." Lisesharte said with a softened expression.

The two jumped back to give each other space. With the optimal conditions in place, the loudspeaker blared to life once more.

"Are the combatants ready?" the woman barked. With both of the fighters ready with their weapons drawn, the woman gave the green light.

"Resume!"

This time around, it was Ragna who made the first more. Accelerating himself forward, he lunged with the oversized _Blood-Scythe._ Lisesharte, while taken back by the sudden vigor from her wounded opponent, she dashed backwards and propelled her Drag-Ride upwards, barely missing the swing of Ragna's blade. During the short window of time it took for him to recover, Lisesharte began her _Airborne Fortress'_ onslaught once more. Just like the last time, Ragna's machine dashed backwards to gain some distance and took to the sky.

 _Dammit, it just like the last time but…_

Not a moment too soon, Ragna's Drag-Ride narrowly dodged a shot fired from Tiamat's cannon. Making a sharp turn, Ragna was faced directly at the swarm of drones. With a single, precise movement, Ragna weaved between each of the drones. Accelerating around the arena once more, Ragna found himself in an all too familiar situation.

 _These things seems to have strength in numbers and don't seem to follow any sort of overly complex path and prefer to charge in head first. If that's the case then… ah screw this! I'm just gonna go with gut instinct in this one._

Suddenly stopping his Drag-Ride, Ragna brought his sword from behind him. Using both the machine's arms Ragna delivered a heavy slash upwards, destroying two of the four drones and moved out of the way of the other two. The gutsy maneuver was received with a loud cheer from the crowd and a gasp of surprise from Lisesharte.

With two of the drones down, Ragna had significantly more room to maneuver which helped immensely as the princess was still making potshots at the boy, all of which were dodged with ease. After a few more loops Ragna went for a sharp nose dive with the two remaining drones close in toe.

 _Just a planned._

Pulling up on the mech, he was propelled skywards, causing one of the drones to bury itself in the ground while the other pulled up and redirected itself. Taking the opportunity, Ragna took the blade in one hand and drove his sword straight down, reverse grip style, right on top of the drone, annihilating it on contact. With the momentum of the swing Ragna twisted the mech's upper body and swung, catching the final drone just as it was about to collide with him. With the drones taken care of, he turned his attention to a conflicted Lisesharte.

 _To think that he was able to fend off my attacks with nothing but a sword. With his Drag-Ride and he himself in such poor condition, I can't help but to be impressed even if it's just a little._

The girl's gaze fell first upon his machine. Though not anywhere near it's true potential, it was still outclassed by Tiamat in almost every aspect. The armor was cracked, broken and some pieces were even falling off but it still stood, standing by its pilot. Her attention then shifted to the boy, panting and tired. Despite being beaten and bloody, the fire that burned in his eyes couldn't have been any brighter.

The fire of an unshakeable will.

 _Show it to me. Your full strength. I will ascertain it._

A bright ball of light surrounded Tiamat. As the light dimmed, the weapon that it originally held was now a large linear cannon that covered its entire right arm. Lisesharte spoke before the battle continued.

"If you wish, I shall allow you to complete the activation of your divine Drag-Ride if you so chose." she offered to which Ragna only shook his head.

"I suggest you reconsider. With your prematurely activated Drag-Ride, you won't have a barrier. Taking a shot from my Divine armament, Seven Heads," she said gesturing towards the canon her machine dragon held. "would surely be fatal."

Ragna snorted as he readied the blade. He had already come this far, no point in switching up the plan. Even if he wished to, he couldn't, he had no information about the Drag-Ride in his possession.

Lisesharte gritted her teeth. While she did hate the boy in front of her, she had no intention of ending his life. Reluctantly, she aimed Seven Heads and prepared to fire. It was then that she remembered Ragna's words about being responsible for his own decisions.

 _I hope you intend to follow-up with those words, you gigantic moron._

"Tell me Ragna Kisaragi, how is your dancing?" she asked the blonde haired boy.

"Complete ass." he responded between heavy pants. "You mind leading?"

"Gladly but I must warn you, mine is also on the rough side, Nonetheless I do hope you can entertain me, Ragna."

With the final exchange of words, a maelstrom of bright red energy was loosed towards Ragna who used the remainder of his strength to evade the shot. Even though the attack missed, it was powerful enough to completely shatter the protective field around the arena.

"Holy shit... Ragna muttered, staring wide-eyed at the damage the attack caused. "I'm gonna die here, aren't I?"

With a quick order over the loudspeaker, the orange Drag-Rides were sent into a frenzy as they attempted to the reconstruct the barrier. Following the shot from Seven Heads, the cannon went into a cooldown phase. Ragna noticed immediately and headed straight for the girl with the intent to finish the match. With a furious roar, Lisesharte raised her voice.

" _Airborne Fortress!_ All launch!"

As commanded, twelve more crimson drones launched from the back of her Drag-Ride and began closing in on Ragna with surprising speed.

"You've gotta be shitting me!" Ragna shouted as he boosted backwards, beginning his game of cat and mouse yet again. In the midst of his pursuit, Ragna took notice of the cannon Lisesharte was holding.

 _Judging by the barrel's red glow, it'll be outta commission for a while and it doesn't seem like she'll be able to use any other weapons. I on the other hand…_

Ragna interrupted his own thoughts as he pulled back on his mech and slashed at the swarm drones, destroying one. Ragna went to dive towards the ground and braced himself for the legion of drones that would be sure to follow.

 _Dammit! This thing won't hold out for much longer._ A flurry of dodges, blocks and slashes punctuated his thoughts

 _At the same time it looks like she isn't in much better shape either. With her weapon recharging and these drones being dumber than freaking Tao, I can win this if I can make this a war of attrition._

Lisesharte looked on at the boy, realizing the two were stuck in a stalemate. With the situation dragging itself out longer and longer, she began going through her options. At this rate, the match would hit the time limit and the result would be a draw. She, on the other hand, wanted to end this fight as soon as possible.

With the princess distracted, Ragna found the opening he had been waiting for. Putting his Drag-Ride's thrusters into full throttle, he slashed through three of the drones and using the momentum of the swing, rushed Lisesharte.

"This is gonna hurt!" Ragna warned as he closed in with tremendous speed, his blade readied.

 _Seven Heads is still charging and the Flying Fortress won't be able to reach him in time! I guess I have no choice but to use it…_

"Don't underestimate me!" Lisesharte shouted as her hand moved to the Sword Device on her hip as she drew the blade.

"PROSTRATE IN THE NAME OF GOD!"

 _Dear god no more prostrating..._

A large golden glyph appeared above Tiamat, causing Ragna's machine to stop moving. Not because he wanted it to but because something made it stop. At least that's what Ragna though initially. He began to feel his body grow heavier along with his Drag-Ride before being violently forced to the ground, unable to move. Looking up, Ragna could see Lisesharte looming above him with Sword Device in hand.

"Allow me to show my respect for your skill Ragna." she said between heavy breaths. "This is Tiamat's special ability, it's Divine Raiment: Heavenly Voice."

 _Shit! My body won't move… no… it's only getting heavier. Wait a damn minute! Does that mean this chick's mech has gravity manipulation?!_

Ragna could only glare up at the girl as his Drag-Ride lie face down. Luckily for him, the _Airborne Fortress_ couldn't enter the gravity field as they would also be affected. Noticing the bright light from above him, he looked up and saw the that Seven Heads was finished recharging and that another shot was ready to go.

 _Dammit this is bad! I gotta do something befor-_

Suddenly, Ragna's body became much lighter and allowed him to move. Expecting the shot from Seven Heads to follow shortly, he wasted no time getting airborne.

But it never came.

 _Why the hell did Heavenly Voice get cancelled? And what about Seven Heads?_

Ragna averted his gaze to Lisesharte. What he saw was something like he'd never seen before. Her expression was darkened and her teeth were clenched in anger. Her Drag-Ride was trembling and the lights were flashing.

"This is bad." Ragna muttered to himself as he rushed towards the girl as the _Airborne Fortress_ surrounded him. 'I don't know what the hell is happening but I sure as hell know it ain't good. I gotta end this stupid thing…!"

 _In a place like this…?! Dammit! Airborne Fortress, cutting control!_

 _Wha? The drones stopped...?! Ah shit…_

Without having to worry about the drones, Lisesharte poured all of her remaining energy into the Seven Heads for one last shot at point blank. At the same time, Ragna wasn't willing to back down either. With a blind charge, Ragna prepared to meet Lisesharte and the Seven Head head-on.

(end theme)

" _THIS ENDS HERE!"_ they shouted as they both launched their attacks.

At least that's what was supposed to happen...

 _ **SKREEEEEEEEEEE**_

An earsplitting roar shook the entire arena, darkening the sky above the arena. The sudden event stopped both Ragna's and Lisesharte's attacks. Above them, the two heard a young girl's terrified scream. Turning towards the source of the noise, they were greeted with a sight that defied anything that Ragna had ever known about the world he had been placed in.

One of the orange Drag-Rides was being attacked by a large, unidentified creature. The creature held the machine's wing in it's jaws as it bit down with enough force to destroy it, causing black smoke to veil the creature. The only visible of the creature were its sinister red eyes that shone through the smoke. The loud speaker blared to life for the umpteenth time.

"All students get, evacuate to safety!" the woman barked as screaming spectators fled to safety. "All personnel with Drag-Rides, deploy and protect the students!"

Realizing time was of the essence, Lisesharte, with Tiamat now calmed down, raised Seven Heads to prepare a shoot stopped only Ragna who, without saying a single word, lunged forward into the smoke.

"Bastard!" the youth shouted as he balled his Drag-Ride's hand into a fist, connecting with the creature's skull. The blow was powerful enough to send it flying a fair distance away but completely shattered the arm below the elbow joint.

"Well that's just great." he muttered as he readied his sword in his remaining hand. "Hey, are you alright?" he said turning his attention to the girl in the orange machine dragon.

"Y-yes, thank you very much!" she stammered. The terror in her eyes were as clear as day. Seeing the shaken nature of the girl, Ragna lowered his voice in an effort to comfort her.

"I'm glad." he said with a smile. "Just get outta here. Now." With a quick nod, the girl deactivated the Drag-Ride and ran for cover. Once she was safe, Ragna returned his attention to the beast.

The creature was skeletal but dragon-like in appearance, completely black. Ragna was preparing to charge the creature but the headset he wore began buzzing as a voice came through. It was Lisesharte.

"What are you thinking? Taking on an _Abyss_ on by yourself? Are you insane?!" she yelled over the comms. Fearing his head might crack open from the minor concussion he had received earlier, he tried to reason with her.

"Probably but if we want any chance of kicking this guy's ass to the curb, I need you to listen to me." he said, blade ready. "I'm gonna need you to lay low for a bit."

"And let you get killed?! Not happening!" she shouted.

"And this is the part where you _listen_ dammit." he hissed back as he propelled his Drag-Ride forward, charging the Abyss. "I'll distract this thing meanwhile you take aim at it from below."

"And when will I know that it's okay to fire?" Lisesharte asked as her Drag-Ride descended.

"You need a signal or something? Shit, I dunno. Maybe if my arm gets lopped off, I could wave it around or something?" Ragna said with a smirk, in spite of the situation.

"Hey!"

"I'm joking, idiot." he said calmly as he slashed at the Abyss. "I trust you on this one."

"Wah?" she yelped in surprise, her face growing warm. She just hoped Ragna couldn't see her.

"You've clearly shown me that you're capable enough to make your own calls and I suck with group and the like, so this one's on you."

"And what about you?" she asked.

"Working on it!" he answered abruptly before shutting off the channel, leaving the princess to let out a sigh of exasperation. She watched the sky in silence as two figures sped past and clashed repeatedly. With a small smile, she began charging Seven Heads once more.

"Alright," she said quietly, "I'll hit this for you Ragna. But first…"

* * *

Ragna and the Abyss clashed, claws against steel. Despite being able to manage his gigantic sword with only one arm, he had to take caution with his swings due to the condition the entirety of his Drag-Ride was in.

 _What the hell is this thing exactly? My machine AND my arm have been acting strange since this bastard showed up. Wait… you've gotta be shitting me…!_

While he was stuck in thought, the Abyss seized the opportunity to break off from the parry and kick Ragna's Drag-Ride away as the wing-like spines began to glow red, sending forth an assault of red needle-like projectiles. Still reeling from the previous attack, the Reaper found himself completely vulnerable.

 _Dammit! There's no way I can block it!_

Ragna's thoughts were interrupted as an all too familiar red drone collided with the Abyss' attack, nullifying it. Following close behind, other drones intercepted each of the spines and formed a protective sphere around the criminal. The Abyss fell back, screeching at the sudden intrusion. Casting a glance down to Lisesharte, he could see her smirking. He too, gave a smirk.

"Alright." Ragna shouted to the Abyss. "It's been fun and all but you've been a real pain in the ass. Let's finish this!"

As if on command, the _Airborne Fortress_ launched their assault on the beast, pelting it relentlessly. Ragna accelerated to get behind the creature who could only shriek as the _Airborne Fortress_ continued hammering away at it.

"Too slow!" he shouted as he swung his blade. While not nearly sharp enough to cut through the monster's tough armor, it was definitely enough to send it hurling towards Lisesharte.

"Against an enemy with a strong defense, one should capitalize on an opening with a single, full powered attack." she muttered to herself as she let loose a full powered blast from Seven Heads. The beast didn't even have the chance to shriek as the blast swallowed it, instantly vaporizing the creature on contact. The single shot shook the arena, creating a shockwave and shattering the barrier the other Drag-Rides worked so hard to put back up.

"At least that's the theory, you monster. I'm the same too."

Tiamat dropped to one knee and Seven Heads vanished. Looking across the field as she deactivated her Drag-Ride, she saw Ragna land, ever so sloppily. Whether from his injuries or exhaustion or both, he collapsed as soon as he hit the ground, causing his Drag-Ride to shut down. Panicked, the princess ran to the fallen boy's side. Seeing that he merely fainted, she let out a sigh of relief. Despite everything, she laughed.

"So it only took a trip and a half through Hell and back just to knock you unconscious, huh?" Resting his head in her lap, she smiled down at him. Thinking back on the fight, she was surprised how the past hour had taught her more about this person than the past few days did. Sure, he may be gruff and vulgar up front but the fight had shown her that he was caring and courageous. With a small smile she whispered.

"It's my loss."

* * *

"Big brother, big brother!" a cheery voice rang out. Ragna, who was resting under the shade of a tree, opened an eye and saw his younger sister looking at him curiously.

"Oh, it you Saya." Ragna said as he sat up. Looking around, he found himself in top of a hill, surrounded by a vast meadow. The sun bathed the area in a warm, vibrant golden rays blanketed the meadow. "What's up? And where's Jin at?"

"So you finally remember me, brother?" Jin said walking up to them with arms crossed, doing a terrible job of hiding his smile. Walking up to him, Ragna ruffed up his little brother's hair, much to Jin's chagrin.

"Never forgot, dumbass." Ragna answered with a smile, receiving a small giggle from Saya. Jin too, laughed a little. The two vouched to lay under the tree alongside their older brother for what seemed like hours on end. As the sun began to set, Jin and Saya both got up.

"Where you guys going?" Ragna asked as he sat up once more.

"Shouldn't you be asking that to yourself, brother?" Jin snapped, in a surprisingly cold tone.

"What are you talking about?"

"Big brother will be making more friends, he doesn't need us anymore." Saya said miserably with tears in her eyes.

"Hold on! That's not how it is, dammit!" Ragna yelled as he reached his hand out.

Saya grabbed a hold of Jin's hand as the two turned away from their older brother, walking off into the seemingly endless horizon.

"Jin! Saya!" Ragna shouted at their retreating backs. No response came as nightfall fell upon the hilltop, leaving Ragna alone in darkened silence.

* * *

Ragna's eyes shot open, a cold bead of sweat ran down his forehead. He immediately sat up only stopped by the unbearable ache in his chest. Feeling his ribs he could have sworn that they were broken.

 _It healed? No it couldn't have, I don't have the Azure on m- gah! Shit!_

His hand moved towards his forehead to lessen the ache. Instead of flesh, he felt cloth. His chest was bare, wrapped in bandages. Suddenly aware of his surroundings, he half expected to wake up to Lisesharte aiming the Seven Heads at him. Instead he found himself in a small candle lit room laying on a bed. Glancing out the window Ragna could see the sun setting, giving off a vibrant orange hue that stretched across the sky.

"Oh, you're awake." an all too familiar voice said from across the room. Ragna turned to see the princess, wearing the academy's uniform, walking over to him with a bowl of steaming water and a wet cloth. The girl's face had a slight tinge of crimson on her cheeks as she approached him.

"You were taking care of my wounds?" Ragna said rhetorically yet the girl gave a small nod anyways, refusing to look him in the eyes.

 _The hell did I do?_

Letting out a quiet yet exasperated sigh he quickly snatched the towel from her as he began to wash dry blood off of his body.

"But your wounds-" she said before getting cut off by Ragna.

"Yeah, just give like five minutes." he said bluntly. "Then I'll be ready to go back at it." Taking a quick glance at his Sword Device resting on the side if the bed, he picked it up and attempted to get out of bed.

 _Tried._

As soon as he turned his upper body, his chest exploded in pain, sending him into a small fit of sharp coughs. Lisesharte grabbed his shoulders to support him causing Ragna to look up in surprise at the sudden contact. The two blushed as they became aware of how close they were, their faces mere centimeters from each other.

"I-it's fine." Lisesharte said shyly as she pulled back quickly, taking the rag with her. "I decided to give you the win."

"Ha... ha. Yeah, um, well… wait, what?" Ragna said, snapping out of his half-dazed state. The girl gave him a small smile as he scratched the back of his head.

"Damn. Wasn't expecting that." he said sheepishly. He regarded Lisesharte with a raised eyebrow. "Guess I should thank you for treating me but just so you know, I ain't good with owing people favors."

The princess stifled a giggle.

"Don't think anything of it. This is the least I can do for you after what you've shown me today." Ragna stared blankly as Lisesharte made her way towards the door. With a sigh, Ragna looked through the window once more to see that the sun had set. In the distance, the lamps from the nearby city lit up the night.

"How long was I out?" he asked the girl.

"It wasn't too long, roughly six hours." she said, still not looking at him.

"Well that sucks.' Ragna groaned as sat up and rested his back against the wall. The cool surface stung at his exposed skin.

"Why did you do it?" she asked in a low tone. Ragna looked at the girl positioned a few feet from him, confused.

 _And now she's pissed? The hell did I do?!_

"What are you talking about?" Ragna said crossly.

"I'm talking about why you charged an _Abyss_ with a damaged, half functional Drag-Ride!" she said angrily.

"The hell did you expect me to do?!" he retorted. "I'm not about to just sit on the sidelines and watch something bad happen. Not if I have anything to say about it."

Lisesharte looked into the boy's emerald eyes. The once vibrant, lively eyes were now downcast, almost as if there was some sort of weight behind them. With a small smile walked over and sat down in a chair near the bed.

"Look, all I'm trying to say is that I did because I wanted to." Ragna said as the girl got closer. Glancing back at her, Ragna saw that she was smiling.

"What?"

"I see. I will leave it at that." she said, still beaming at him.

"Who the hell are?" Ragna said as he sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes narrowed. It was no secret that he was unnerved by the sharp contrast in attitude. Lisesharte crossed her arms and pouted at the query.

"I have a name you know!"

"Yeah, the girl known a _Lisesharte_ hated my guts and judging by the drift I'm getting from you, you're like a completely different person." he snapped. The girl got up once more and put her hands on her hips as she marched towards Ragna with chest held high.

"I am a generous and kind princess to those who prove themselves capable." she boasted. Taking a deep breath, the girl slowly walked away from him. She was glad Ragna wasn't able to see the deep blush she had on her face as she spoke.

"Remember what I said at the beginning of our match?" she said quietly. The question hung in Ragna's mind as he went through a mental recollection of the day.

"You said that you would tell my why you decided to fight me?" he half answered, half asked. Lisesharte gave him a small nod. "Pretty damn obvious if you ask me, don't think anyone would get off easily if they fell face-first into a bath house full of naked…"

Ragna's voice slowed to a crawl as his face began to grow warmer and warmer recalling the events, an instance of accidentally straddling a certain nude blonde haired girl stuck in his mind in particular. Unfortunately for him, Lisesharte seemed to notice.

"Where do you think your mind is you pervert?!" she yelled as she hurled the rag she had at Ragna's face. The hot towel stuck to his face, covering his eyes. Ragna quickly clawed it off of his face before it could scald his skin.

"The hell was that fo- gah!" the Reaper exclaimed as he he freed the towel from his face only to be met with a sight that caused his breath to catch.

"Not so loud." Lisesharte said quietly as she pulled down her skirt just below her navel. Covering his eyes, Ragna quickly looked away.

"What are you doing you idiot?! Pull your skirt up dammit!" he shouted as he refused to look at the girl. Lisesharte moved quickly to cover his mouth.

"Don't shout, please!" she said with a pleading look. With his eyes closed he nodded as her hand released his mouth.

 _Oh god… oh god...!_

"It's okay if you look." Lisesharte said timidly. "Just this once, I'll allow it."

With the mental war on hold, Ragna dared to peek. As he began to see more clearly, he saw a strange red sigil on the girl's stomach. He sat there in silence as he tried to decipher the meaning behind the mark. He had seen many symbols in the past few days but none had matched this one.

"Um… what the hell is that?" Ragna asked lamely. He looked up to see Lisesharte, now fully dressed, trembling, expression darkened and face red. Quicker than he could follow, she punched him, sending him sprawling onto the bed. Coming back to her senses, Lisesharte saw the boy clutch his forehead for what must've been the twentieth time today.

"Oh! Sorry… are you alright?" her voice back to normal volume.

"I guess." Ragna said as he sat back up. "God you hit hard."

"As royalty and a major figure within the New Empire, I needed to learn to defend myself." she said matter-of-factly. "Especially if some pervert would ever decide to drop in on me while I'm bathing."

"I'm telling you it was an accident, dammit!" Ragna groaned at the princess' wry smile, getting a small laugh from Lisesharte.

"I believe you." she said still laughing a bit but her voice shifted to a much more serious tone. "But please, don't tell anybody about what you just saw."

"Not a soul." Ragna replied immediately, sending a wave of relief through the girl.

"If that's the case, this matter is settled." With a smile she looked at him one last time. "Oh by the way, starting tomorrow you I will have you officially come to this academy. Your uniform should be dropped off at some point tonight"

"A janitor uniform?" Ragna said with an eyebrow cocked. "Thanks but no thanks, I already got one set of clothes that suit me fine."

"Not that kind of uniform, you idiot." she said as she stood in the open doorway. "I mean a school uniform."

With that, Ragna let out a loud laugh. When he looked back towards Lisesharte, he half expected her to be laughing along with. She wasn't.

"Wait..." Ragna said nervously as his eyes narrowed. "I'm actually going to be attending here as a student?"

"Yep!" the girl said happily, much to Ragna's charagin. "From tomorrow on, you will be attending our academy as an officer candidate student."

"This is a joke right…?" he said trying to find any type of reassurance from Lisesharte. Still troubled, Ragna sat on the edge of the bed stuck in deep thought. "This is a technically a girl's school right? How the hell is a guy supposed to fit in?!"

Rather irked at the lack of responses he was getting, Ragna raised his voice to a shout.

"Oi Lisesharte! Lis-' Ragna got cut off by the princess as she finally.

"What is it? You're loud.' she said in an irritated tone. "And stop calling me that.'

Ragna raised an eyebrow as the girl gave him a small smile. "Just call me Lisha, just like my classmates." With the final words she happily walked off. Unbeknownst to either Lisesharte or Ragna, someone was listening in on them.

Back in the room, Ragna let out an exasperated sigh. His supposed healing factor had been busy as he only felt a bit of soreness in his chest instead of an unbearable ache. Looking over to his Sword Device, he picked it up and observed it.

 _Guess I don't really get a say in any off this. Well it looks like we're going to be getting well acquainted with each other._

Setting the weapon down next to his bed, Ragna fell back onto his mattress after what had seemed like the longest day he had in recent memory. With a smirk, the Reaper closed his eyes as he drifted off to sleep, mentally preparing for whatever the next day would throw at him.


	3. Old Empires and New Enemies

"My name's Ragna Kisaragi… it's my first time being in an environment like this so I hope that you won't really mind me." With an awkward smile, the boy stood at the front of the classroom.

 _The hell is with this atmosphere?!_

Ragna didn't have the best morning to say the least. Although the rest of the night had gone smoothly, it was the morning that really did a number on him. He was awoken early in the morning to speak to Relie about his enrollment. After about an hour of discussion and paperwork, he asked if he he could clean himself up. Bad idea. Although he was allowed to, the following hour was him trying to make it to the bath house and use it before anyone else, being that the school's nature was girls only. After that, he got dressed in his uniform, consisting of a white top with blue coat tails, black pants, black boots and a small red tie, not unlike the girls' uniforms, and spent the rest of the morning trying to navigate around the campus until he had finally landed in the right classroom.

Drawing himself back to the present, no response came from the rest of the room, just blanks stares. With the introduction finished, the instructor gave Ragna her best regards let him find a seat. Looking among the sea of students, he saw a few familiar faces. When walking down the aisle of desks, he spotted Lisesharte, or Lisha as she wanted him to call her, out of the corner of his eye. Being the only guy in the entire academy was bad enough as it was for Ragna, now he just wanted to remain under the radar as much as possible but it didn't help that she was frantically waving to him and motioning towards an empty seat near her. Catching the attention of some of the other students, they all shot glances at him.

 _Oh you've gotta be shitting me…_

As quickly as he could, he made his way to the back of the classroom, much to Lisesharte's dismay, vouching to sit as far away from them as possible. After a quick sigh of relief, he noticed that sitting next to him was a quiet, pink haired girl. She seemed to have a very distant expression, as if she was half awake, not unlike himself. He noticed the very familiar golden eyes that were seemingly glassed over. A sudden realization made Ragna's blood run cold.

 _Wait..._ _she isn't related to the headmaster, is she?_

As if on cue the girl decided to introduce herself.

"My name is Philphie Aingram. Please take care of me." Despite the words lacking recognizable emotion, they were in no way half-hearted or sarcastic. Despite this, Ragna found his face buried in his palms, confirming that this girl was indeed related to the headmaster.

"Ragna and likewise." he said sheepishly, face still in his palms.

With the session well under way, many of the students had pulled out textbooks something which Ragna lacked. Instead, Ragna decided to take notes the old-fashioned way, paper and pencil. The next few hours were spent learning many things that Ragna would've loved to know the day prior. The lesson touched up on Drag-Rides and the different variants. Apparently, the machines were excavated within areas known as ruins and were capitalized by the Old Empire. There were three different variants that had been discovered since then, and one new, man-made variants. The flying variants are known as Wyverns, the ground-based variant known as Wyrms, custom variants known as Drakes and finally the rare Divine variants, the ones that he and Lisesharte were apparently in ownership of. Each variant can come equipped with different weapons such as swords, throwing daggers and cannons known as Breath Guns. In addition, he learned more about the creatures known as Abyss', abnormally strong creatures that guard the ruins, that he fought against and their different variants. The one he faced off with the day before was known as a Gargoyle.

Eventually, the instructor dismissed the class for a lunch break. Ragna, instead of going to eat, sat at his desk attempting to wrap his head around what he had just written three pages of notes on. After a short headache, Ragna looked to up to see himself surrounded by students, many from his class and many others from other rooms. A flurry of whispers and chatter surrounded him.

"Is he the new transfer?"

"The match yesterday was so cool!"

"He seems kinda scary, maybe we should try to avoid him."

 _Well, shoulda seen this coming but still… Argh! Dammit, I wanna go home._

Doing the best he could to avoid conversation, Ragna suddenly found great interest in the weather outside. The noise had stopped momentarily but he could tell that everyone was probably staring at him.

"Excuse me, mister." Ragna vaguely recalled the voice but his curiosity got the better of him as turned towards its source. Although it took Ragna a few seconds to recognize the girl in front of him, his brain finally decided to start functioning.

"Oh hey." the response came out much more static than he intended but he mentally shrugged it off. "You're the girl from yesterday at the arena, right? You need something from me?"

"Oh, um... i-it's nothing really I just wanted to give you this as thanks for back there!" the girl quickly shot out an envelope, complete with a heart sticker to seal it. Whispers came from the nearby girls as he reluctantly accepted the letter. If his head hadn't already been hurting from early, Ragna would've gladly slammed his face into the desk.

Trying not to be an ass at the sudden turn of events, he gave the girl a small smile. "Um, thanks but it's not really something you should really thank me for."

"N-no, I insist." she said, face bright red. "If you'll excuse me then."

Without another word, the girl ran back through the crowd, leaving Ragna as confused and uncomfortable as ever.

 _And to think the days only half over. Someone put me out of my misery…_

Coming back to reality once more, he could see Lishesharte walking towards him as part of the crowd dispersed.

 _Not what I meant. Dick move life, dick move._

"So what was that about?" she asked eyeing the letter.

"Hell if I know." Ragna replied lazily as he stretched. Taking a quick look at the letter, he shoved it into his pocket and turned towards Lisesharte.

"So what do you want? And if you're asking me to eat with you, I'm straight broke." he said as he sat back and crossed his arms.

"Um actually," the blonde replied nervously, face almost as red as her eyes. "It's something more, how should I put it? Personal?"

Ragna lifted an eyebrow and waited for the question and once more, the swarm of gossip rebooted itself. Running low on patience, Ragna cleared his throat.

"So what is it? It better not be something we have to speak about in private. God knows what everyone else is already thinking." with a simple jerk of the head, he motioned to the mob. The princess took a deep breath and regained her composure.

"Ragna, starting today, I would like you to become my exclusive assistant." Ragna, who had started drooling from drowsiness, almost choked at the request. The crowd behind him let out an earsplitting scream, as they had also heard the request.

"Ek-friggin-scuse me?!" Ragna sputtered between coughs. Ragna wasn't above rejecting requests but he had already brought on too much attention. Once again, the two sides of his mind were in turmoil.

"Hey! That's not fair!" one of the girls yelled over the mob. It wasn't long before a majority of the crowd rallied with her. Before he knew it, Ragna was being swarmed by requests left in right.

 _I guess that I do need money and part of the deal was that I could work here but THIS is not what I had in mind..._

After several long minutes of forcing himself to drone out, Ragna had noticed that on top of his desk was a mountain of paper slips, all having various odd jobs written in them. Slouching at his desk, Ragna let out a sigh.

"Looks like someone has been busy." a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Don't remind me, dammit." he replied. He hadn't exactly registered that someone was speaking to him and his brain, currently on auto-pilot, decided to speak for him. Looking up, he saw flowing silver hair.

"Oh, it's you." he said with narrowed eyes. Krulcifer put her hands on her hips and gave him a teasing smile.

"Hey, you don't have to sound so disappointed." she said in mock injury. The boy to rolled his eyes at the comment.

"If you decided to approach me for some other reason other than to annoy me, something I know you're not above doing." Ragna said as he pulled himself up. "Then I'm guessing you need something from me as well?"

"For someone as crude as you, you're actually are pretty sharp." she replied turning to leave the classroom. "Come with me."

Ragna sighed as he got up to follow Krulcifer. He noticed Lishesharte staring at him with an annoyed expression. He waved her off as a way to tell her not to go with him as he made his way outside of the classroom. It only took Ragna a few seconds to catch up with Krulcifer. Strangely enough, the two walked in silence the entire way to their destination. After a few along minutes, they finally arrived to the top roof. Ragna leaned on the rail as he admired the view.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Krulsicfer said, finally breaking the silence between them.

"I can see the entire campus too. The wind feels great as well." a slightly less irritated Ragna replied. "Damn, if I ever need somewhere to go to cool my head, I think I've found the place."

Laughing at the boy's awed expression, Krulcifer leaned against the railing as well. Once more in silence, the two simple admired the view. After being drawn back down to earth, Ragna found himself much more alert.

"So you wanted to talk? Let's hear it." the boy turned to face Krulcifer, back resting against the rail. "If you dragged me up here just to see the roof I swear-"

"You are familiar with the legend of the Black Hero, correct?" the question came so suddenly, it caught Ragna off guard, if only a little bit. He shook his head and remained silent.

"The coup d'etat five years ago brought down the Arcadia Empire after generations of corruption and tyranny." the girl began. "All it took was one night to topple a regime that stood for decades."

"So this Black Hero guy or whatever," Ragna interrupted. "I'm guessing he was the one who led the rebellion?"

"Not quite." the girl answered. "The Black Hero was the monster that defeated the Old Empire's Army, over a thousand Drag-Rides strong, with a single Drag-Ride in only one night. This was ultimately the person responsible for bringing the Empire to its knees."

 _Over a thousand in one night? Damn. Pretty impressive. I don't think even I could manage something like that against the Librarium…_

"The affiliation and identity of the Black Hero remain an identity to this day." she continued. "For this reason he is known as the destroyer of the Old Empire and a hero for the New Kingdom."

"Okay, storytime was great and all," Ragna said, crossing his arms. "But what does this have to do with why you wanted to talk to me?" Krulcifer walked past him as she made her way to the staircase that had brought them to the roof.

"Simply put." she said as she glanced over her shoulder at the boy. "Find the Black Hero. I have business with that person."

Ragna couldn't even begin to protest against the outrageous he'd been given as Krulcifer slipped out of view.

 _Sure, tell me to find someone with no leads. I'm not even a freakin detective! Jesus, why the hell do I go along with this type of shit…?_

* * *

After a few long hours, class had finally let out around mid-afternoon, giving Ragna the rest of the day to himself or so he thought. As soon as he reached his room in the dormitory, he was greeted by a box, a box filled with nothing but requests. With an irritated sigh, he picked up the box and entered his room, placing the box on his bed as he began going through the requests.

 _I swear to God this better be worth my freaking time…_

It wasn't until late into the evening that Ragna had finally gotten a chance to rest as he finished mopping the bathhouse floor. As he set down the mop to lean against the wall, he looked up at the ceiling. The hole he made when he fell through a few days ago was now boarded up. At the back of his mind, some part of him hoped that, buried beneath that stack of jobs, there wasn't a request asking him to completely repair the hole. With a small bead of sweat running down his forehead, he quickly exited the bathhouse and double timed it back to his room only to be greeted with a fresh stack of requests.

"Oh God dammit." he muttered sourly. "I just got finished with at least a fourth of these stupid things only for twice as many to show up on my front door.'

Entering his room once again, Ragna grabbed the box and placed the new batch of requests inside. Taking the box in both hands he set it outside his door, just so he wouldn't have to deal with having a stack of papers as a makeshift doormat every time he came back to his room. As he shut the door behind him, he eyed his Sword Device that rested against the bed frame.

 _I know Drag-Rides can be summoned from the Sword Devices but I didn't hear anything about them being able to self-repair during the lecture today. I should probably see someone about that…_

Without a second thought, he grabbed the blade and headed out once more. While it took longer than he intended, and much longer than he wanted it too, Ragna finally arrived to what seemed like a warehouse. Stepping inside, he found that there were several Drag-Rides of differing sizes, colors and variants inside the hangar, all under repair. Only a single lamp lit the interior and it seemed like the place as empty. Feeling indifferent, Ragna set his Sword Device down on a workbench and left quickly. As soon as he returned to his room, he immediately went for his bed and was asleep within minutes.

* * *

All around him was white. Ragna stood alone in the vacant space as he tried to comprehend where he was. Looking ahead, his eyes widened when he found himself approached by a familiar face. An all too familiar face.

The man was as tall as he was thin, dressed in a fancy black suit with a black fedora to match. A wide grin was plastered on his face, both eyes lazily shut with his green hair flowing as he approached.

"Terumi!" Ragna shouted angrily as he lunged forward to punch the man. With a leisurely lean to the right, the man dodged as his leg shot out as he tripped the boy. A much more sinister smile etched across the man's face as he slammed a metal heel against Ragna's skull, causing the latter to wince in pain. A single glowing, yellow eyes stared at the boy under his foot.

"I hate to break it to you, but Terumi's not here but I do have to say," the green haired man taunted as he grinded his heel into Ragna's skull. "That this really takes me back! But who would've ever imagined that the revered Grim Reaper would be reduced to nothing more than a child?"

"Shut the hell up." Ragna grunted as he glared upwards. "Why the hell are you even here?"

Hazama, still grinning, removed his heel and allowed Ragna to get to his feet before he explained, much to his surprise.

"To put it simply." he began. "Our world isn't the only one with Observers."

"You mean to tell me that you of all people became an Observer for this world?" the boy's eyes narrowed at Hazama's remark.

"I can't exactly say for certain but I just wound up here after a rather... painful trip through the Boundary." the man said indifferently with a shrug, completely ignoring Ragna's subtle insult. "I have been keeping a close eye on you this entire time you know."

The statement sent shivers down Ragna's spine. Still glaring at Hazama, Ragna pressed for more answers.

"Cut it with the cryptic bullshit!" he snarled. "If you know what the hell is going on then gimme some damn answers! What happened to the Azure?! What can you tell me about this place?!"

Hazama gave no verbal response, just another small shrug as he continued smiling down at him. Ragna's voice lowered. "You still got that big-ass hole in your chest right? Start talking or I'm gonna make it two!"

"My, my such hostility!" Hazama finally responded, raising his arms as if to surrender. "Unfortunately, I promised myself to interfere with this world as little as possible."

"You bastard…" Ragna's hand balled into a fist as he lunged towards the man. It would've connected but Hazama began to fade away.

"If there is one thing I can tell you about this place," Hazama said, his voice getting increasingly faint. "Something big is about to happen."

"That doesn't tell me shit!" the boy fumed as the figure became more and more distant.

"Oh my! That's too bad but it seems that we're out of time for today." the voice echoed throughout the empty space. "But I do look forward to your adventures, _schoolboy Bloodedge_."

"Laugh it up bastard." Ragna muttered as he started to become increasingly lightheaded. "I'm gonna make sure to pay you back one of these days…!"

Ragna's eyes fluttered open as he stared up at the ceiling. Much to his surprise, his head wasn't sore for the first time in what had seemed like forever.

 _That was just a dream, right? But that seemed a bit too specific and way too cryptic. And to make things worse, why would I have been dreaming about Terum-... no, Hazama?_

The last part of the string of thoughts made him want to vomit. In an attempt to divert his attention, he looked out the window. The sun hung high above the academy and it only took a second for reality to slam into Ragna with likeliness of a freight train.

He was late.

With a sigh he got up and threw on his uniform as he made his way to the classroom at a leisurely pace. Once he reached the room however, it was completely empty save for the instructor who was looking over the papers that littered her desk.

"Yo." Taking a step through the door frame, Ragna gave a small wave to catch the woman's attention. "Um, I'm sorry for being late and what not but where is everyone?" The woman let out a soft laugh as she looked up at him.

"You're not serious are you?" she asked. "The school's closed on weekends you know?"

Ragna only stood there but on the inside he mentally slapped himself a few times. Once for not noticing the lack of students in the hallway, twice for being a moron and three times for good measure. With a look of embarrassment, he quickly turned to leave.

 _God, when did I start giving a shit about this school crap? Ugh, this is pissing me off but now I have an entire day to myself. I guess I could complete some requests or…_

Ragna's thoughts dispersed as he took off full speed towards the repair shop.

* * *

Upon his arrival, Ragna turned to towards the workbench to see that his Sword Device had gone untouched. With a sigh, Ragna turned to observe the other machines.

"I guess no one said progress would be quick." the comment came out much more irritated than he intended it to but he dismissed the thought. Stepping closer to look at one of the Drag-Rides, he accidentally kicked over a few tools, creating a loud clang that echoed throughout the warehouse. The incident apparently didn't go unnoticed as he heard something stir from behind him.

"Is it morning already?" a voice asked. What Ragna had originally thought was a sack of spare mechanical parts was actually a person wearing a large hooded cloak. The individual sat up and stretched and scanned the area as their eyes fell upon the spiky haired teen.

"Oh, Ragna?" slowly getting to their feet, the stranger lowered the hood of their cloak and let it rest upon their shoulders.

"Lisha? The hell are you doing here?" Ragna asked. "Actually, more importantly, do you know where the shop's owner is? I need to speak them about repairing my Drag-Ride."

A smile came to the girl's lips as she processed his query.

"The shop owner?" Lisesharte stretched out her arms before continuing. "You're looking right at her." Ragna opened his mouth to continue but Lisesharte beat him to it.

"And about your Drag-Ride, I spent all night repairing it." With a yawn, she motioned over to the workbench to which Ragna rushed over to and grabbed the Sword Device.

"May I?" he asked. The girl gave a small nod as Ragna drew the blade and summoned the machine. With a flash of light, his Drag-Ride towered over the two of them looking as good as new. With a satisfied smirk from the both of them, Ragna sheathed the blade, causing the machine to disappear.

"Seriously, thanks for that." Ragna smiled at the the drowsy girl. "But don't push yourself, especially for someone like me."

"It's fine but I am curious." she said walking over to another Drag-Ride. "That demolished arm was tricky to repair. Why did you punch that Abyss instead of just using your sword?"

"You stupid?" Ragna replied with a small laugh. "If I just swung into that smoke with a big ass sword, someone could've gotten hurt."

"I see. That makes sense but the thing I'm more concerned about is why did you fight with a partially activated Drag-Ride in the first place?" turning back towards, she saw Ragna scratch the back of his head while an embarrassed smile plastered his face.

"I trust you enough for this much, just promise that you won't kill me, alright." Lisesharte slowly nodded her head. "Truth be told, the whole handicap thing was an ass-pull on my part. That was the first time I've ever used a Drag-Ride in my life. Everything in that battle was pure beginners luck."

"You really are weird, you know that right?" Lisesharte said after as her mouth fell agape. Ragna half expected her to explode on him but right now, she just seemed depressed.

"How about try taking a look at yourself before telling that to other people." Folding his arms across his chest, Ragna attempted to guide the conversation elsewhere. "Though I feel like you deserve to know this. Concerning that Abyss thing-'

"Gargoyle." she corrected.

"Yeah that thing, asshole-mcflies-a-lot." With slight irritation, he continued. "My Drag-Ride was acting a bit strange around it. Anything you can think of?"

The girl shook her head.

 _Well that's just great..._

With a shy smile, she turned away from him. "If you're not too busy with requests, do mind coming with me for a bit?"

"Those things are a real pain. If I have an excuse to get out of it, I'll take it." Ragna smirked. "So where are you thinking?"

"Don't worry about it! Just follow me!" Ragna couldn't help but laugh at the sudden vigor in the girl's voice as she threw her cloak to the side and dragged him towards the entrance of the warehouse.

"Alright Your Highness, please lead the way."

* * *

Before he knew it, Ragna had found himself being dragged into the middle of the city and into a restaurant, courtesy of Lisesharte. He couldn't help but notice the stares that people gave them as they were seated. After the two had ordered their food, the two launched into frivolous conversation. It didn't take them very long to come across a subject worth talking about.

"So Ragna," Lisesharte looked at him as he took a sip of his drink. "I don't believe you've told me about your past. Would you mind sharing?"

The question sent cold sweat down Ragna's back.

 _Shit. How am I gonna explain this? Staying silent isn't gonna help anything so here goes nothing I guess._

"Well I guess I should start with my family first." Ragna said as he cleared his throat. "I'm the oldest of three, one brother named Jin and one sister, Saya. If I were to describe them… well Jin was a natural-born leader but that doesn't mean that he wasn't a crybaby. One of his greatest fear as a kid was that he always thought that the moon would fall on him. But all in all, he wasn't too bad."

For him, that was nothing short of a lie. Thinking back on his achievements like becoming a war hero, mastering the Nox Nyctores Yukianesa and countless other things, Ragna couldn't have been any prouder of his younger brother despite their long and combative history.

 _I wonder what that bastard's up to right now?_

"As for Saya, she was pretty close to me. She was pretty cheery but just like Jin, she also was a fan of the waterworks crap. Heh, guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Well anyway, the three of us lived with this matron, who we simply referred to as the Sister, in a church in a relatively secluded area. While it was pretty peaceful there were some inconveniences but we managed."

With the exposition out of the way, Ragna took a drink.

"I wish it would have stayed that way but nothing lasts forever." Ragna's expression darkened as he began to recall the events. "One day while I was out collecting water, this green haired bastard named Yuuki Terumi takes to setting the church ablaze and killing the Sister. Before I knew it, Terumi kidnaps both Jin and Saya, leaves me unconscious at death's door and disappears without a trace." Ragna subconsciously balled his hand into a fist as he recollected the memory. He saved the detail about his right arm getting cut off and being replaced by the Azure Grimoire just for simplicity's sake and for the sake of his partner's appetite. Looking back at Lisesharte, he could see that her expression was nothing short of appalled.

"Eventually I come to and I get taken in by this man named Jubei. Guy was pretty damned skilled with a sword and as someone who also had a bone to pick with Terumi, he decided to train me and teach me everything I know today. The rest is just the shit that's gotten me here today."

"I sincerely hope that one day you can find your brother and sister and I'm sorry if I forced you to remember some rather unpleasant memories" the girl said quietly. "I promise to you with my position that if this Yuuki Terumi is ever found, he will be brought to justice."

"Don't even think about it." Ragna snapped. "Leave that bastard to me. I have a score to settle."

It wasn't shortly after that their food arrived. Ragna, feeling slightly uncomfortable about talking about his past opted to eat in silence with Lisesharte following his example without looking at each other. Despite the now sour atmosphere, he hadn't enjoyed a meal like this in a while. Between the mush he was served when he was a temporary prisoner and the sub-par cafeteria food, this was heaven for him. Glancing up at Lisesharte, he could see that she as well was enjoying herself.

 _Glad I didn't completely ruin this for the both of us._

After a couple of minutes, their waitress came with the check. For only two people, it was a rather hefty amount but fortunately for Ragna, Lisesharte said it would be on her. At least that was the plan. She reached back for her wallet and then turned to give Ragna a nervous smile. He knew that this only meant one thing. Ragna took a deep sigh and went for his wallet, only for his heart to turn to lead.

"You know how I said that after I went out on my own, I had to learn a few things?" Ragna asked as he leaned over to inspect the bill. Lisesharte nodded and Ragna smirked.

"Well there's one thing I've always kept in my arsenal of skills in case of an emergency." Without another word, he grabbed the princess by the hand and high-tailed it out of the restaurant. It only took a few seconds for the staff to notice and a few of them gave chase.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Lisesharte, blushing madly at the contact, was having trouble keeping up with Ragna despite them holding hands.

"Easy. Running!" he shouted as he continued sprinting, not bothering to look back.

"You know this is illegal, right?!" The two of them ran through a large crowd in the city's plaza, effectively losing their pursuers.

"No shit!" Ragna threw his head back and let out a laugh as the adrenaline kicked in. Darting around a corner, they reached another open yet crowded area of the city. To ensure that they had made their getaway, Ragna guided Lisesharte to a large clock tower in the city square. Lisesharte had trouble trying to remain calm as they walked up a flight of stairs. Once the pair had reached the top, they found themselves in a box-like area that was open on all sides at the top of the tower. While it wasn't large, it had more than enough room for both Ragna and Lisesharte to move around. Stretching out his arms, Ragna took a few seconds to catch his breath and rested his arms on the balcony.

"Ah, that's more like it." The view of the city was nothing short of breathtaking. A vast stretch of shops and rows of parlors surrounded the tower on all sides, seemingly stretching for miles. With a smirk, Ragna turned back to see that his partner was rather troubled.

"Look," Ragna said scratching the back of his head. "If it really upsets you that much, I can just go back there and pay the tab as soon as I get paid, assuming that the don't to kick me out or arrest me as soon as I get close to that place."

"Geez, you're too headstrong." she pouted. "Act first, think a few days later." Ragna shrugged. She wasn't too far off in his opinion.

"Besides," Ragna smirked. "With your position as the princess of the New Empire, we should be fine." The light-hearted comment was met with silence. Ragna instinctively knew he hit a sore spot. Lisesharte clambered over the balcony and stood on the edge to face him.

"The hell are you doing you idiot?! That's da-"

"Tell me Ragna." the girl's expression was grim. "What does it mean to be a princess?"

Ragna couldn't think of a way to answer the unexpected question. For all his life he'd been the polar opposite. A criminal. A terrorist. A murderer.

"Do you remember the crest of the Old Empire on my stomach?" Recalling the revelation, Ragna nodded as a light shade of red touched his cheeks. "Five years ago during the coup d'etat, I was captured by the Old Empire to be used as a bargaining chip against my father who participated in the rebellion."

 _Yep, definitely a sore subject. Note to self, no more royalty jokes._

"Even so, the coup was carried out without negotiating. For two months I was held prisoner by the Old Empire. In short, I was abandoned. This brand was evidence that I was a prisoner of the Old Empire." The girl's hand fell to cover the area where the crest was placed.

"As selfish of a wish as it was, I…" Lisesharte choked on her words but took in a deep breath before continuing. "I wanted my father to chose me over the country. It came to the point where I couldn't even kill myself so I had resolved to become a member of the Old Empire and to train as an assassin for them. It was on the morning that the coup succeeded that I was liberated. I discovered that my father and younger sister had been killed during the coup, leaving me as the only survivor of the Atismata family. It was at that time when my aunt, who had no children, had become queen. She, not unlike your mentor Jubei, took me in as her own and made me the princess of the New Kingdom. The fact that I was the Empire's prisoner, the fact that I was branded, all of it was concealed."

Ragna couldn't think of what to say. He could only listen a the girl in front of him talked.

"In the end I felt hopeless. I couldn't do anything for the New Kingdom. That's why I don't consider myself a princess. I don't nearly have the qualifications."

 _I guess it's always something for somebody but still…_

"Thanks for listening to my story Ragna." With a sad smile she returned to Ragna's side.

"You heard me out so I guess it's only fair." Ragna sighied. Looking at the afternoon sky, it just occurred to him how long the two had been up there. "We should probably…"

"Head back?"

"Bingo."

* * *

 _God today was a long ass day._

Ragna laid down on a couch in one of the various lounges provided by the dorms. At least for him, the walk back from town had been nothing short of awkward. No one said a word as a heavy weight fell onto their shoulders. Once they reached campus they said their goodbyes and split up.

Folding his arms behind his head as he closed his eyes as he fell asleep for the night.

* * *

Luckily for Ragna, the night had passed without any visits from Hazama, something he had personally dubbed 'Night Terrors". Unfortunately, the next morning didn't go as smoothly. Being awakened by the sound of blaring sirens, Ragna shot up and saw that he had somehow slept well into the afternoon. Looking outside, he saw multiple students heading towards the warehouse dressed for combat with Sword Devices in hand.

 _Yeah, definitely not good._

Quickly running back to his room and flung open the door, ignoring the now overflowing box of requests, Ragna quickly changed into his combat uniform and strapped his Sword Device on the back of his belt. Running down the halls, Ragna opted to follow the crowd. After a few hectic minutes, Ragna finally reached his destination. Inside he saw multiple students were in their combat uniform running in and out shouting orders. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lisesharte with a small group of students gearing up. Curiosity got the better of him and he ran over to meet her.

"Oi, Lisha!" the princess turned towards him at the shout. "The hell is going on here?"

"A large Abyss was spotted near the outside of the city so we're going to go deal with it." Lisesharte motioned towards the south where dark cloud were gathering.

 _Yep, totally not ominous or anything._

"Alright, it's an Abyss then?" Ragna gripped the hilt of his sword. "I'm coming with you."

"Sorry but all other students have to stay here." Shalice had cut between the two and glared at Ragna. "Only members of the Knight Squadron are permitted to go."

"Is that right?" Ragna said bitterly, narrowing his eyes at the blue haired girl. "Then let me join, if it's a test then I'll just complete it here and now. On top of that, you know what I'm capable of."

"I'm sorry Ragna." Lisesharte interrupted him in attempt to scatter the embers. "But Shalice is right. Besides, you have your own issues with your Drag-Ride so it's best if you avoid combat."

Ragna gritted his teeth. "That didn't stop me before, no way in hell it's gonna stop me now."

"Please!" the girl pleaded. "This won't take long so please look after this place."

"Alright whatever." Ragna snorted, eventually giving in to Lisesharte's demand. "But if shit hits the fan, I don't give a damn if I'm not a part of this stupid unit. I'm going, end of discussion."

"You're as reckless as ever I see." the three of them turned to see Krulcifer standing in front of them.

"You…!" Ragna was cut off by the sound of Drag-Rides flying overhead.

"I guess that's our cue." Lsesharte motioned to the remainder of the squadron as the deployed the machines and took off as well, leaving him and Krulcifer. Irritated that he had to sit on the sidelines, Ragna leaned against the side of the the building as he sat down and shut his eyes.

"This is bullshit…"

* * *

"Princess Lisesharte, we're nearing the target! It appears to be a slime type."

Ahead of the group was a large liquefied being. The creature was akin to a giant blob that rose several stories up. Despite the rather intimidating size of the creature, it posed minimal threat due to it's lack of limbs and on top of that, slime-type Abyss were incapable of intelligence.

"Do a quick survey of the area to make sure no one else is getting dragged into this." with a nod one of the girls equipped a special headdress and scanned the area.

"It's all clear!" she reported in. The remainder of the squadron quickly fell in line at the conclusion of the report and awaited for further instructions.

"Okay, everyone get into position!" Lisesharte shouted as she drew Seven Heads, aiming it at the sentient puddle.

"You intend to just straight up shoot it?!" one of the girls asked. Lisesharte gave a nod a a large ball of red energy collected at the front of the cannon's barrel.

"If we combine our firepower, we can tear through it and hit the core!" she shouted to the rest of the Knights. With no one protesting or offering any alternatives, they all readied their Breath Guns and took aim at the Abyss.

"5… 4… 3… 2…"

The countdown was cut short as a high pitched whistling resounded throughout the area, forcing the girls to cover their ears. In front of them, the Abyss began to glow as it swelled up. With a quick shout, the Knight Squadron gained distance between them and the now volatile beast. With a bright burst of light, the Abyss exploded, sending large amounts of slime in every direction. Quickly recovering, Lisesharte opened her comms.

"Is everyone alright?!" she said frantically. The entire unit was scattered, some lightly injured, some heavily injured.

"Barely." Shalice replied. "What about you? Are you okay?"

"From the looks of it I'm fine." Lisesharte turned back towards the Abyss, now scattered. "How are the others?"

"We're tending to the injured right now." Tilfurr spoke." Those who are either heavily injured or don't have a weapon will stand back for the moment. Those who can still fight will come to your assistance."

"Thanks I-" the princess' words were cut short as she noticed a man with dark, slicked back hair in a lone Drag-Ride approaching them.

"It seems like we meet once more Lisesharte." the man sneered. "So how is it? Playing princess I mean?"

"Are you the one who deployed troops from the capital?" aiming Seven Heads towards the stranger, her eyes narrowed.

The man broke into a fit of laughter. "The capital of the New Empire? No, I came from the capital of the Arcadia Empire. Leader of the Imperial Knight Guard, Velvet Barth is my name, pleased to make your acquaintance _princess_."

The mention of the Arcadia Empire sent a chill down the girl's spine but she regained her composure. "Judging by your allegiance and your actions, you are planning to put the Old Empire back into power, am I wrong?" around Lisesharte, the able-bodied members of the squadron drew their weapons to take on the new arrival. "But unfortunately for you Velvet, your surprise attack failed and you're hopelessly outnumbered. Surrender and you won't be hurt."

"Me? Outnumbered? My this is just rich!" Velvet shouted, his eyes widened as he pressed a small horn-like object against his lips and blew into it, creating the same high-pitched whistling noise. "Hatch, eggs."

All around him, the remnants of the slime Abyss began to shake violently. Each of them bursted and spawned a Gargoyle. Velvet cackled at the despair of the group as each of the Gargoyles took to the skies. The swarm surrounded the man but didn't attack him instead waited alongside him as if awaiting orders. Each of them screeching, eager to fulfill their bloodlust.

"No way…!" Nokuto, one of the member of the Triad along with Tilfurr and Shalice, stared in terror. 'We've never faced more than two Abyss' at once!"

"She's right," Shalice said, placing her hand on Lisesharte's shoulder. "As it stands, we're outnumbered at least five to one. We need to pull back and call for reinforcements."

Out of options, Lisesharte gritted her teeth. Her orders were simple. "Nokuto, report the situation and send for reinforcements, all injured return with her. Anyone still able to fight, stay with me and provide me cover."

"We can't do that!" Tilfurr protested. "This country is brand new and is going to need you moving forward!"

"Then what kind of princess am I if I can't defend my country?!" she shouted as she aimed her cannon towards Velvet who gave a toothy grin at the gesture. Realizing their leader's resolve, the squadron was in agreement.

"Understood, let's go!"

* * *

Ragna's nap was interrupted by the drone of a Drag-Ride overhead.

 _The hell? It's only been an hour. Guess shit went pretty well._

Ragna opened his eyes and was greeted with a legion of retreating Drag-Rides. They were in pretty bad shape. Almost as bad as his Drag-Ride after his mock battle. As far as he was concerned, not all missions go as smoothly as planned. If anything, he knew that from first-hand experience. But as Ragna listened in, he knew something was off. Panicked words came from the interior of the hangar. He could only pick up bits and pieces but as he kept listening in, the more nervous he got.

 _Abyss… flute… Old Empire… reinforcements? The hell is going on out there?!_

Ragna growled in frustration as he turned and headed away from the the area, grip tightened on his Sword Device. Krulcifer was propped up against a nearby tree and shot him a disapproving glance and shook her head as a warning.

 _Chew me out later. I got something to deal with first._

* * *

"Heavenly Voice!"

Several Gargoyles were forced to the ground as a large golden glyph appeared above Tiamat. Taking advantage of the downed Abyss' a few members of the Knight Squadron finished them off. Lisesharte let loose a beam of energy from Seven Heads, obliterating a column of Gargoyles but only for more of them to take their place. One flew in from above her and tried to slash downwards but it was hit by a stray shot from a Breath Gun. Boosting backwards, the princess dodged a bombardment of Gargoyle spines.

"Airborne Fortress, all launch!" the command was followed by a swarm of bright red drones, ramming into any of the Gargoyles that strayed too close. Lowering herself to the ground, Lisesharte strafed and fired into the swarm, effectively taking down a large number of them but another hum of the whistle summoned twice as many.

 _I won't be able to win this thing if I don't do something about that whistle! It also seems that the Abyss' are being controlled by it. If I can get rid of the whistle, they may focus on the boss and I'll be able to take them out all at once. It's a bit hopeful but it's worth a shot!_

"Princess Lisesharte," over the comms Shalice's voice came through. "I apologize but it seems like the rest of us are at our limit. We are starting our retreat"

"You guys did great, I can't thank you enough." the sound of Seven Heads firing punctuated her words but the message was clear enough. "But please request that the instructors send reinforcements quickly. The way things are, I'm not sure if I can hold out for much longer."

"But of course. Godspeed, princess." as Shalice shut down the link, she couldn't help but notice a distant streak of red quickly heading towards the direction of the skirmish.

"Seven Heads!" a blast of energy cleared yet another group of Gargoyles as Velvet lazily dodged.

"You'll never hit me with aim like that." the man smiled but soon faded once he realized her intention. A clear path had been carved leading right to him and advancing towards him was none other than Lisesharte herself.

"Magnificent!" he cackled as he drew his blade. "Very well I will meet you head on Princess Lisesharte!"

"You're mine!" Seven Heads accumulated a large sum of energy that was going to be released at point blank. Faster than she could track, Velvet seemingly disappeared, followed shortly by the sensation of Tiamat falling. Slamming into the ground, she glared up at Velvet who stood over her with an amused expression.

"Too bad! It seems that even your Divine Armament wasn't enough to beat out Q _uick Draw_." Velvet brandished his blade with pride. "An overlap of control using mind and body, you can execute an unseen attack with a single stroke. One of the many techniques passed down by the Arcadia Empire, it took me five long years to master it while being watchdogs for you damned nobles!."

With a quick jerk of the stick, Lisesharte attempted to retaliate while her opponent was busy gloating but no response came.

 _This isn't good, Tiamat's out of commision. At this rate…_

Overhead, the hum of multiple Drag-Rides came closer and closer. Looking up, there was at least one hundred of them.

 _Reinforcements from the capital?! With them and the remaining Knights, we'll be able to defeat him. I just need to hold out for a bit longer…!_

"Feh. What an irritating woman." Velvet muttered when he noticed the girl's defiant smirk. "Don't tell me you that you honestly believe those reinforcements are from the royal capital?"

"Those colors…! The colors of the Old Empire?!" the girl's heart sunk. "Then that's-"

"The Rebel Army?" the man covered his face as he began laughing. "And it looks like we have a winner! Man, if you could only see the look on your face right now! Absolutely priceless! I guess that is the only expression worthy of such a traitor"

"What are you talking about?!" Lisesharte demanded.

"You still haven't realized it yet?!" Velvet was hysterical. "I'm the one who taught you how to use a Drag-Ride and on top of the, I was the one who put that crest on your stomach, you bitch!"

All of the memories came flooding back to her. His face, Velvet was there, placing the molten iron against the young girl's skin. Laughing while she was screaming. Lishesharte's thoughts became cloudier by the second as despair threatened to crush her, her vision began fading to black...

"Oi, is this damn thing on?" a familiar yet irritated voice echoed through the comms.

 _An auditory hallucination? No, I'm definitely hearing him... I guess it's fine, being able to talk to him in the end._

"R-ragna?" the voice was weak, broken but definitely heard.

"Finally! You have no idea how hard it was trying to get this damn thing to work while moving.' Ragna said in a slightly irked tone. "Anyways, I know the situation is looking pretty shitty but just hold out for a little bit longer. I'm on my way."

"Ragna, please just listen to me." the request was a tear ran down the girl's cheek. "You know that I ran away, right? I was abandoned. Forced to become an assassin for the Old Empire or face death. Scared and without any other options, I was set on becoming a member of the Old Empire. Before I knew it, I was thrusted into the position of princess for the New Empire. It was difficult but I tried the best I could because… because I wanted to be accepted by everyone, as selfish as it was."

No response came from the other end, only static. Lisesharte lowered her gaze.

 _I wonder if my voice reached him… I'm really glad I got to meet you Ragna but it looks like I'm out of time._

With one last act of desperation, Lisesharte drew Tiamat's Sword Device and threw it. The blade grazed Velvet's face as a blood trickled from the shallow wound.

"So…" Velvet clenched his teeth, trying to retain his composure. "By throwing away your prized Sword Device, I'm guessing you've made your peace, bitch? Very well!" Velvet drew his Breath Gun and took aim. "Once I'm done with you, I'll throw your corpse to the palace and invade it!"

The princess shut her eyes as the barrel began to glow.

 _How frustrating. I told myself that in the end that I wouldn't cry even if I'm scared…_

The sound of a shot escaping the barrel echoed throughout the plain. What followed wasn't the sound of metal tearing through flesh or a dying cry of anguish but the unmistakable clang of metal against metal. Daring to open her eyes, Lisesharte's gaze fell upon a dull red machine dragon carrying an abnormally large sword.

"What you told me…" Ragna said in a low voice, staring at the army before him. "It sounded like giving up to me."

Lisesharte tried to protest but this time Ragna interrupted her.

"You know, I'm not gonna act like I know what you've gone through but there is one thing I can say for certain." Ragna deactivated his Drag-Ride but still faced the army. "No matter how hard the shit in your life is to carry, you can always ask someone to help you ease the burden."

 _Insurmountable odds? Check. Azure back in commision? Check. Someone that I've sworn to protect? Definite check. God dammit fate, you suck you know that right?_

Turning back to the army, Ragna assessed the situation. "About a hundred general-type machines and a dozen Abyss." Ragna clicked his tongue in annoyance as he shifted his gaze to Velvet. "I sure as hell ain't the Black hero but even I can handle this much." Ragna drew his Sword Device once again but he noticed his right arm was starting to become numb and his Sword Device began giving of purple wisps.

 _What the-?! Dammit, well it's worth a shot I guess!_

(cue Blazblue Alter Memory OST "Lust SIN")

"RESTRICTION 666 RELEASED!" a blue glyph appeared beneath the boy as he shouted the incantation, the ground beneath him cracked and released a dark aura that surrounded him, the sky above the combatants darkened. "DIMENSIONAL INTERFERENCE FIELD DEPLOYED! BLAZBLUE, CONNECT ON!"

The aura completely swallowed the boy as he let out a cry of pain.

"Ragna!" Lisesharte tried to reach out to him but as she did, the aura violently dispersed.

What stood before them was a sleek, blood red and black Drag-Ride. Green lights highlighted the machine. Red, jagged metal spikes adorned the machine's knees and elbows. The wings were now much wider and gave off the same green lights. A dark aura, similar to the one that had swallowed Ragna, emanated off of the Drag-Ride. The sword's handle now extended, easily double the weapon's length. The blade folded outwards with crimson energy completing the rest of the weapon's now scythe-like visage.

But perhaps the most vexing of changes were the ones to the machine's actual pilot. The boy's right arm gave off the same dark aura much like his machine. His right iris now glowed red but most notably, his hair was now silver instead of his usual blonde.

An uneasy feeling settled throughout the battlefield as the army stared at the boy. Lisesharte herself was terrified of the oppressive aura coming from him, Ragna shot a glance over his shoulder, revealing his red glowing eye. Lisesharte flinched but saw that he wasn't angry, rather he gave her a kind smile.

"Lean on me."

Without warning, a three rebel soldiers lunged forward, swords drawn. Making no attempt to dodge, Ragna swung his scythe in a wide arc destroying the machines on contact in a large explosion. Bursting forward from the smoke and flames, the blood red Drag-Ride dove straight into the legion of soldiers, weaving between each of them with ease and dispatching them just as quickly. A few Drag-Rides attempted to attack him from behind once his barrage concluded but the move was far too transparent. With a quick jerk of his scythe, a large beast head, made of pure darkness, surged forward and devoured the soldiers, their machines exploding in a brilliant ball of flames and debris. The boy turned to Velvet, his expression cold and void of emotion despite the lives of the soldiers he just ended.

"What are you doing?!" the commander yelled frantically to his troops. "It's only one machine! Form up and attack!"

With the hum of the whistle, the remaining Abyss shrieked and closed in on Ragna followed by a large number of rebel soldiers. Grabbing the hilt of his weapon, Ragna gathered dark energy into his blade. "Seed of Tartarus!" Sending forth multiple waves of crimson energy, it collided with the group, leaving no survivors. Crimson strands of energy flowed from the smoke and into Ragna' Drag-Ride. Feeling the sudden increase in energy, Ragna flew skywards and rushed into the remaining enemies. All that could be seen of the machine was a red streak of energy followed by multiple explosions as Ragna tore through the army with ease. After a few short moments, the army that had been at least a hundred men strong was now down to no more than ten. Ragna's Drag-Ride skidded as it came into contact with the ground. Corpses, debris, wreckage, flames and smoke littered the landscape the boy's machine landed upon but the one who was responsible for the carnage stared on indifferently. With a sharp cough, a large amount of blood gushed from the boy's mouth.

 _So this is one of side-effects for pushing myself? Tch. Pain in the ass._

"The god of death, swiftly and mercilessly laying waste to an entire battlefield with only a scythe. The legend of the Reaper is..." Velvet stammered, eyes wide with fear and anger. "Who the hell are you?!"

Ragna's eyes narrowed as he wiped the blood from his mouth, reverting Blood-Scythe back to its sword form. The commander's lip twitched, a vein was visibly popping out from his forehead.

"Fine!" he shouted as he raised his sword. "Then you might as well die alongside of the New Empire! Rot as the Arcadia Empire flourishes, you damn scum!"

The remainder of the soldiers rushed forward and closed in on Ragna. A large cyan glyph appeared behind Ragna as he too lunged forward to meet the soldiers head on.

"CARNAGE-" holding the blade in a reverse grip Ragna surged forward, slamming the darkness coated blade into the ground as it came crashing down on top of one of the soldiers, killing him instantly and destroying the Drag-Ride. "SCISSORS!"

Flinging the blade upwards, two crossed lances of pure darkness surged forward, killing the remaining soldiers. Ragna looked at the grizzly sight as he grit his teeth. Even though he wanted to avoid it, he would follow the same path of violence even in his second life.

"Ragna!" from behind him Lisesharte shouted. Gritting his teeth, Ragna channeled his Drag-Ride's remaining energy into the machine's right arm, creating a large claw of dark energy and spun around not a moment too soon, catching an unsuspecting victim.

"Bastard!" Velvet screamed in rage as the claw caught him mid-strike and hefted his Drag-Ride high above the ground. The man coughed up blood and spat it at Ragna as the giant claw began the crush his machine. "How did you predict my Quick Draw, you little shit?!"

"I've had to fight many different types of opponents over the years. Some could level a skyscraper with a single blow, some who could control ice and way too many other things I care to waste my breath on." he said calmly, holding his glare with the commander.

"As for that technique, it's impressive but attacking an enemy as soon as there's an opening is nothing short of predictable. And from the beginning, a shitty little party trick like that isn't gonna get you very far against me."

The claw began to glow as tendrils of darkness rose from the ground and consumed Velvet before detonating. The man let out one final cry of anguish as the battlefield fell silent. Looking around the boy noticed a familiar red Sword Device, blade buried in the dirt. Carefully picking the blade up, Ragna glanced over to Lisesharte who stared at him completely awestruck. With a sigh, he walked over to the princess and offered the blade.

(end theme)

"T-thank you." she whispered as she accepted the weapon. Placing it back into its sheath, Tiamat went into a dormant state. Following the example, Ragna deactivated his nameless Drag-Ride causing his right eye to return to it's natural green color and his hair to become blonde once more.

"Lisesharte." Ragna was clearly frustrated. "Never do that again, especially on me you idiot."

"I'm sorry." the girl brushed off the dried tears on her cheeks. "I just didn't know what to do… I just felt so helpless. I ju-" The girl's words were cut off by a small gasp as Ragna embraced her.

"You idiot. Just promise me you won't go giving up so easily."

Lisesharte closed her eyes and fell into the embrace, burying her face into his shoulder. The two stood there for what must've been an eternity.

 _Geez. You run headlong into a fight like that just for the sake of one person? You really are hopeless…_

From above them, multiple Drag-Rides approached them. Instead of reinforcements for the Old Empire, the ones before the two was the remainder of the Knight Squadron. Tilfurr was the first to speak upon noticing the embrace that Ragna and Lisesharte were locked in.

"Oh? What's this?" Ragna shot her a glare. "Are we interrupting something here?" Lisesharte broke off from the embrace and shook her head as she ran up to meet them with Ragna close behind.

"We came here to provide support but it looks like everything has already been taken care of." Nokuto said as she quickly surveyed the area. "Good work you two."

"It was actually Ragna." Lisesharte said, a slight blush touched her cheeks as she grinned at the spiky hair boy. "He saved me right in time and single-handedly defeated the enemy."

"Bullshit." Ragna snapped. He didn't want any extra attention on him, especially now. "That was all on you."

"Well regardless of the events," Shalice said, cutting through the group. "We're glad you are both safe." Ragna smirked and Lisesharte smiled and nodded. With the conclusion of the rendezvous, many of the Knights had begun heading back leaving Lisesharte, Ragna and their escorts.

Feeling significantly better, she turned towards Ragna. Their initial meeting had been nothing short of disastrous and the following day was arguably worse but what followed were nothing but fond memories. Ragna cocked an eyebrow as Lisesharte smiled at him.

"So, you ready to head back?" she asked.

"Heh." Ragna chuckled. "Thought you'd never ask."


	4. Competition and Compromise

Taking in a deep breath, Ragna closed his eyes.

 _Focus. Join the mind and the body and then-_

With a gust of wind, Ragna felt his Drag-Ride surge forward as he swung his weapon, currently in it's sword state. Opening his eyes, he found that he was on the opposite side of the colosseum, hundreds of feet from where he originally started with his blade drawn.

"So that's Quick Draw, huh? Took me long enough to nail it down." he said aloud. With a small cough, blood trickled down the corner of his mouth as proof of his vigorous training. It had been four hours and the signs of fatigue were starting to show. The academy closed for the day and immediately after class was let out, Ragna was down at the arena in full combat uniform within twenty minutes and had been training ever since. He repeated this process for almost a week with multiple goals in mind, first of which was mastering the Quick Draw technique.

Ever since the incident involving the rebel army and the declaration of the returning Arcadia Empire, Ragna had spent every waking hour training himself and mastering his Drag-Ride. He was able to work on translating some of his old techniques such as _Hell's Fang_ and _Inferno Divider_ to be usable with his Drag-Ride with a great deal of success, something that the boy was rather proud of. He was even able to manually deploy his barrier like he had done so many times in the past.

"I guess I should try to get this thing down consistently first." Ragna mumbled as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Closing his eyes once more, the machine shot forward leaving plumes of dust in its wake. "Damn, I need to learn how to execute this thing without taking so much time to prepare for it."

 _Wait a damn second. This thing may take a shit-ton of time to prepare but what if I can prep it while in the middle of another attack?_

With a toothy grin, Ragna channeled energy into his Drag-Ride's fist. With a loud roar, he lunged forward.

"Hell's Fang!" Ragna shouted as his Drag-Ride's fist flew forward. All the while, he readied Blood-Scythe. As soon as he finished executing a darkness covered uppercut he transitioned into his new technique. With a quick burst of energy, Ragna's machine rocketed forward as he swung.

 _Holy shit... that worked?!_

Ragna, too busy celebrating his accomplishment, failed to notice that the combined distance of _Hell's Fang_ and _Quick Draw_ sent him on a one way crash course with the wall of the arena. With a loud thud, Ragna inspected the damage, his Drag-Ride and the wall included. His machine had a few chips and cracks in the armor but thankfully it wasn't too bad as the barrier his he deployed last second had absorbed most of the damage. The same couldn't be said for the wall however. A large crater had formed at the area of contact, pieces of it fell onto the dusty arena floor. Ragna's forehead fell into his palm as he stared at the sight.

 _Well shit. Looks like I can expect an earful from the instructors later…_

"So this is where you were." Ragna turned to the source of the voice. It, of course, was Lisesharte who was yelling at him from the stands.

"I've been coming here everyday after class." Ragna shouted back as he walked up to meet the girl. "Just gimme a sec, I need to grab my stuff."

Within a few minutes, Ragna made his way out with the top of his school uniform unbuttoned and slung over his shoulders. Lisesharte joined him shortly as the two of them made their way out of the arena and back to the dorms. Ragna handed her his Sword Device with a rather guilty expression.

"I know you just fixed it but it's kinda messed up… again." with a disapproving glance, the girl took the Sword Device from him. "Sorry."

"You really have to ease up with training Ragna." Despite the scowl on her face, Ragna had the sinking suspicion that she was smiling on the inside. "What were you training four hours for anyway? Not even just today, you've been doing this for the entire week."

"Nothing you should be concerned about but do you remember that one move that one asshole kept using?" Lisesharte nodded. "Basically that but I'm trying to build upon that."

"Geez, even when you aren't fighting, you're training. A one track mind if you ask me." she pouted. "Anything else I should know about?"

"I've also been trying to work something out with the berserk state." he added. Whether it would make the situation better or worse had completely slipped his mind at the moment.

"You know that all that uncontrolled energy is dangerous right?!" Lisesharte shouted as she frantically waved her arms in front of the boy.

"Exactly." Ragna said dismissively but he noticed the girl's genuinely concerned expression and attempted to reassure her. "Look, while all that energy may be dangerous, there's a shit-ton of it. If I could find a way to direct that energy-"

"Not happening." Lisesharte shook her head as she immediately shot down her friend's suggestion. "Seriously, just take a day off from training. You might actually live to see another day."

"Bite me, dammit." Ragna growled. "And besides, the last time I had a day to myself it resulted in a dine-and-dash. If you ask me, it's much better this way."

Lisesharte stifled a giggle. For Ragna, it amazed him that he had enough energy to train, especially after recent events. After returning from the encounter with the Old Empire, Ragna had expected everything die down and return to normal. He couldn't have been any more wrong. Eye witness reports surfaced of a lone red, scythe wielding Drag-Ride destroying an entire army had spread around the academy. Needless to say, everyone suspected the strange new transfer, despite the numerous times Ragna denying ay involvement in the incident. Things were already bad enough for him as many of the students constantly swarming him asking him about the encounter but it continued to escalate once the reports had reached the ears of government officials. Throughout the week, there were numerous instances of nobles and other high-ranking individuals trying to recruit him as a mercenary or as a member of a private army with promises of wealth and fame. Needless to say, all requests were shot down by him immediately. In addition, Ragna expected word of his presence to spread throughout the rebel army.

"I swear to God they better not screw up the damn wanted poster." he grumbled.

"Did you say something?" Lisesharte asked as she glanced towards her troubled friend.

"It's nothing." Ragna said sheepishly as the two walked through the doorway to the academy. The comment only earned a skeptical glare from the girl. Seriously, I'm fine but more importantly, how have things been for you."

"Not to good I'm afraid," Lisesharte looked down as they continued walking. "My aunt has tried to calm the fires but the rumors about the Arcadia Empire has sent the Imperial Court into disarray. I've been hard pressed by members of the royal family for information."

"I thought so." Ragna said as he turned to head to his room. "Seriously though, don't push yourself with this shit and if you need me to punch one of those bastards, just tell me. I need to let off some steam anyways."

"I'd rather you not. It definitely won't be scoring you any points with the royal family." Lisesharte said as she put her hands on her hips. 'Also, you're going to be lecturing _ME_ about overextending myself?"

"Fair enough." Ragna shrugged. "Anyway, I'm gonna hit the hay. I'll talk to you later."

"Hold it!" Lisesharte grabbed Ragna by the arm. "I almost forgot, the headmaster wanted to speak with you after class but since you ran off she wasn't able to."

"It's not my fault that she didn't grab me." he complained as resisted against her tugging. "Besides, I'm behind on a bunch of those requests. Damn things keep piling them up."

"You say that yet you're the one who is constantly ignoring them just so you can train." Ragna let out a sigh.

"I get it, I get it. So I just need to talk to the headmaster, right?" with a nod, Lisesharte dragged him off towards the cafeteria.

 _Wait, what the hell?! If I recall the headmaster's office is in the opposite damn direction. I got a bad feeling about this…_

* * *

"Alright, Relie should be on the other side." Lisesharte said as she motioned to the towering dual wooden doors before them. "After you."

"The hell do you want to come? I thought she just wanted to talk to me?" the princess remained silent as she leaned her back against the wall waiting for Ragna to open the door. With an irritated snort the blonde boy shoved the door open.

"Congratulations on your enrollment Ragna!"

"Gah! What in the hell?!" with the sudden greeting, Ragna recoiled from shock. Behind him Lisesharte was beaming at him.

The entire dining room had been cleared out and decorated. In the center of the room lay a massive table with a white cloth draped over it. Various foods and drinks were placed on top of the table. Surrounding the table was the entire student body, save for a majority of the third-years. With a round of cheers and applauses, Ragna stepped through the threshold and walked into the room, face plastered with an expression nothing short of dumbfounded.

 _Dammit. I knew the hallways were a bit too quiet on the way here but this isn't what I expected._

"Wait a freakin second!" Ragna shouted over all the chatter. "I thought you said the headmaster wanted to talk to me!"

"Despite your reputation, you're a bit slow on the draw." turning his head, he saw Relie approach with a full glass in her hand. "While not entirely false, this is the main reason I requested to see you."

"You're telling me you planned a party just for being admitted into the academy?!" Ragna's voice was exasperated, frustrated and confused. Whether these emotions were showing one at a time or all at once was wnyone's guess, even his.

"Actually…" a small voice behind said. "It was me who planned it."

"Lisha?!" Gawking at the girl, Ragna was even more confused than before. At the same time, he felt a small hint of guilt stinging him.

"Look." Ragna said as he scratched the back of his head as he he began digging for words. "It's not that I don't appreciate this it's just that… I dunno, this is a bit much just for something as commonplace as being enrolled."

"It's fine!" the princess shouted suddenly, face completely red. "You did save my life so this is the least I could do to repay you."

Lisesharte's voice trailed off as everyone turned their eyes to her. From behind Ragna, Tilfurr walked up to him and gave a playful nudge to the ribs.

"Did something happen between the two of you, Raggy?" Ragna gave a scowl at the reintroduction of the nickname with Tilfurr giving a wry smile in return.

Turning away from his tormentor, Ragna turned his attention back to Lisesharte. He gave a sigh and walked up to the girl.

"Sorry Lisha." Ragna said he faced her. "I guess I was just a bit overwhelmed. But thanks, I really appreciate it."

"Alright, now that we have that cleared up why don't we get this party started?" Raising her glass high above her head, Relie beckoned for the students to follow suite. Ragna walked towards the table and grabbed a glass himself. Following the example, the rest of the students grabbed a glass from the table and returned to their spots. With an awkward smile, the Reaper raised the glass skywards skywards with everyone else doing the same.

"Cheers!"

With a toast, the dining hall erupted with chatter once more. All around him, people were eating, drinking, talking, dancing and enjoying themselves in general. A growling noise came from within his stomach and Ragna realized how long it had been since he had last eaten. Making his way slowly over to the table once more, he quickly grabbed a sandwich from one of the multiple trays strewn about the table and turned to make a quick retreat. Turning his head, he noticed a familiar, ditzy pinkette. Offering a wave to, Ragna gave a small but friendly smile before returning back into his corner. Much to his surprise, Philphie smiled back at him. After he had arrived in his dark, secluded corner, he looked amongst the sea of students as he hungrily crammed the sandwich in his mouth. Despite himself, he couldn't help but smile.

 _You know, I don't know what this life has in store for me. Hell, I might as well try to make the most of it._

Shaking off his usual habits, he went into the crowd and roamed from group to group, making small talk and friendly banter with numerous students. Time seemed to fly by for him as seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. The thing that he was shocked by most was that he was enjoying himself. Once he had concluded his current conversation, Ragna was about to walk back over to grab another sandwich but he noticed Lisesharte make her way to the center of the room.

"Excuse me everyone, I would like to make a few announcements!" the noise ceased as everyone's attention was turned to the center of the room. "I would like to first say welcome to the academy Ragna."

 _I guess this is a bit of a late introduction but whatever._

"As for the second thing. I'd like to announce that as of today, Ragna will be joining the Knight Squadron." Ragna, with a piece of cake half swallowed, almost choked upon hearing the declaration. From across the room a dark skinned girl with maroon eyes spoke up.

"Isn't everyone a bit too quick to forgive him?" the girl said as she crossed her arms. A few nearby students nodded their heads in agreement. "Also, that decision isn't for you to make. Just because big sister Celes isn't here doesn't make you automatically in charge of the Knights."

Ragna raised and decided to speak up. "Who the hell is this Celes person?"

"You seriously haven't heard about her?" Ragna shook his head. "Celistia Ralgris is a third-year student and as the strongest student attending the academy, is the leader of the Knight Squadron. Above all, she is notorious for being a man-hater."

"Just my luck." Ragna muttered bitterly as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. Just as Ragna was about to speak, he was swiftly cut off by Relie who held a painfully familiar box in her arms, papers filled the box to the brim.

"Ragna, I hate to interrupt your conversation but this is the other reason I wanted to speak with you." Relie said as she gave Ragna a stern look. "Over the past week, you've accumulated a fair amount of requests that have been left untouched."

Ragna gave no reply as he stared at the box with dread. Placing it on the table, Relie reached behind her and pulled out a red piece of paper. She handed the paper to Ragna who didn't even bother reading it, rather he opted to the headmaster a confused look.

"The hell was that supposed to be?" he asked. Many of the students were a bit shaken towards his attitude towards her but Relie herself didn't seem to mind at all.

"Tonight's entertainment." Relie winked at Ragna and turned to address the crowd. "The paper I just hand Ragna is a special request form. Whoever comes into possession of it will be given priority over him for an entire week. In simpler terms, whoever gets ahold of that request form will get exclusive possession over Ragna."

"Okay. WAIT! WHAT THE HELL?!" Ragna shouted as he stared at the form. To him, the simple red paper had now became a ticking time bomb.

"If you evade capture for the duration you will be able to do as you please, just like normal." turning towards Ragna, Relie gave him a mischievous smile. "The competition ends in one hour, good luck!"

With those final words, Ragna did a one-eighty and made for the door at full speed with an entire mob chasing after him. As soon as he had reached the door, he heard a stampede follow shortly. Shoving the door open, he made a hard right and began sprinting down the hall, clutching the form close to his chest.

 _Shit! Where the hell do I go from here?! Back to my room? Not unless I want more door kicked down. Off campus? Not unless I want my ass kicked. God dammit...!_

Making his way outside, Ragna darted off towards part of the campus' wooded area. Thanks to the dying sunlight, Ragna was able to stay hidden in order to catch his breath even if only for a brief moment.

"Couldn't I just shove this thing in a damn bush out here?" Ragna grumbled as he took the paper in his hands. Before he could crumble it up and chuck it, a loud voice echoed throughout the area.

"Found him!"

Ragna disappeared before the mob even had time to get within the vicinity, leaving many of the girls confused and above all: disappointed. Unbeknownst to them, he hightailed it for the repair shop. Luckily for Ragna, he was used to staying relatively well-hidden thanks to his past of being a wanted criminal. The trees in the surrounding area helped him stay hidden under the cover of dusk as he made his way to the shop. With light but quick movements, he soon found himself in front of the workshop within minutes and wasted no time breaking in.

"Sorry Lisha." he muttered as he gave a hard shove against the door to force it open. "I'm just not exactly planning on becoming anyone's damn pet for a week."

"Don't worry about it." the sudden voice almost made the Reaper jump out of his skin. Wheeling around, he saw Lishesharte, wearing her usual cloak over her uniform, staring at him with a rather unamused expression.

"Gah! The hell did you get here?!" he shouted. The girl pressed a finger against her lips and made a "shhh" -ing sound. Realizing his volume level, Ragna shut himself up immediately.

"I have no interest in this silly competition." Lisesharte said as she pulled out Ragna's Sword Device. "The reason I'm here is so that I could drop this off. I guess it's also fortunate that you stumbled in here. I've been meaning to ask you many things concerning your Drag-Ride."

"Alright." Ragna said, still on edge. To him, something felt off.

"First off, what was that thing that you used during the attack? You called it the blade… no… blaze…?"

"You mean the the Blazblue?" Ragna corrected with slight irritation in his voice. 'To put it simply, I guess it's my Drag-Ride's special ability. You know, basically the equivalent of Tiamat's Heavenly Voice."

'I see." the girl rested her chin on her knuckles as she leaned against the wall with a perplexed look. "But during the activation, you called out the name of your Divine Raiment during the initial activation of your Drag-Ride. I take it that your Drag-Ride shares the same name as it's special ability."

"Not even close." Ragna said bluntly as he shook his head. "In all honesty, I don't even know my damn machine's name so that entire spiel I spouted was a huge stroke of luck."

"You seem to get away with this stuff a little too often." Lisesharte pouted. "Well if your Drag-Ride doesn't have a name, why don't you give it one?"

"Is that really allowed?" the girl shrugged and Ragna sighed in response. "Eh, what the hell?"

 _So this thing is linked to the Azure, clearly. The Azure was originally a fragment of the Black Beast. The Black Beast closely resembled some sort of monster in Japanese culture. Dammit, what was the name? Saya used to read that story a lot… something about the hero Susano'o fighting an eight headed serpent… or something like that._

"I think I got one." Ragna said as he broke the silence. "Let's go with Orochi."

"I like it!" slamming her fist in her palm, Lisesharte gave Ragna a victorious grin. It only lasted a few seconds as her expression became much darker. "Hey Ragna... you told me that the mock battle was the first time you had ever used a Drag-Ride, right."

Ragna gave a slow nod as he grew increasingly uncomfortable with the conversation's current direction.

"How were you able to pull of those moves?" her eyes narrowed at the boy. "It seemed like you've known how to do those sort of things all your life. Not to mention that power that you gained from your Raiment. It seems to have a clear link to the Abyss…"

Ragna gave a hard gulp as she continued pressing him for answers.

 _Shit… out of all places this damn conversation had to go…!_

"I mean, you asked yourself about the Abyss in connection to your Drag-Ride." Lisesharte pointed out. "Not to mention, the energy readings from when you activated Orochi's Blazblue were almost identical to that of the Abyss."

The girl got incredibly close to Ragna's face as she looked into his eyes.

"Ragna. What are you hiding?"

Ragna reluctantly opened his mouth to speak but as soon as he did, a large mechanical hand ensnared him and lifted him up. Glaring towards Lisesharte, he saw that the princess had her hand on the hilt of a Sword Device he had never seen before. With a self-satisfied smirk, she began to celebrate.

"Alright, I've decided!" she said victoriously. "Once I get that form from you, you can help me fix all these Drag-Rides! We'll work long into the night together talking about machine dragons, techniques and whatever else we can think of! I can't wait!"

"So that was a damn ruse?!" he yelled down to the girl with a very angry expression.

"It's not that I'm not interested." she said crossing her arms. "I just would prefer to hold off on asking until you've gotten more accustomed to how Orochi functions. Alright! Now about that request form."

"So you'll let me go if I just give you the stupid paper?" Ragna said as he raised an eyebrow. 'Fine."

"Really?!" Lisesharte said excitedly. Raga gave a small nod and sighed as the giant mechanical hand released him. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was back to sprinting.

"Hey! No fair!" the princess shouted at his retreating back. "That's cheating!"

"Coming from you?!" Ragna shouted back as his figure slowly fused with the shadows of the forest. "That's calling the pot calling the kettle black!"

* * *

For the next twenty minutes, Ragna had found himself slowly travelling from the woods to the campus. On way too many occasions, he found himself stationary for over a minute at times due to search parties. With the competition being half way over, everyone was getting desperate and started forming large groups. The situation was a double-edged sword; while he didn't have as many people to worry to worry about, it would much more likely that he could be cornered. As he moved from behind a wooden bench, he saw that the area near the colosseum was relatively vacant save for one or two small search parties.

 _Seems like a trap but hell, it's the best shot I have so far. Dammit all, I'm going for it._

As he began to sprinting towards the arena, he noticed a figure walking beneath one of the streetlamps. Against his better instincts, he shouted out to the lonely student.

"Hey!" waving his arm to get their attention, the figure turned to face him. "Huh? Philphie? What are you doing out here by yourself?"

"Oh, it's Ragna." the pink haired girl said sleepily. "No one wanted to join me so I started to look for you on my own."

 _Damn. That's kind of shitty… wait, she's also hunting me! I gotta move!_

Ragna began to turn in order to run but as soon as he did, a strong, forceful grip locked his arm behind his back and forced him to the ground. Initially Ragna thought that he had been ambushed by a group but it was just him and Philphie.

"Oi!" he yelled back to the girl as she pinned him against the concrete. "The hell's the big idea?!"

"Sis said that if I caught you, she'd give me cake." Philphie replied in a monotone voice. "We can share it if you want."

Around him, Ragna felt the ground rumble as he heard the sound of hurried footsteps as they closed in on the two. Fast.

 _Shit! I gotta do something about this situation. But how and why the hell is this girl so damn strong?! Tch. Questions later, right now I need to get my ass out of here!_

"Sorry Phi." Ragna muttered as he used his own abnormal strength to flip the girl on to her back. As he quickly ran towards the arena, Philphie cocked her head as she tried to process what had just occurred.

Within minutes, Ragna found himself in front of the entrance. From behind a bush, he waited as a small group made their way out of the area before he chose to move. Checking that the coast was clear, he made his way to the underground entrance. Quickly but silently, he shoved the entrance open. The hallway was hollow and dark as only a few torches lit the length as it faded to darkness. As he walked through the empty hall, he felt his head start to spin. Holding his hand out in front of him, he saw that his eyesight was beginning to blur. Ragna's footing stumbled as he leaned against the wall for support but fell as his vision went completely dark.

* * *

 _Shit… I can't move my body. What happened? I'm resting on something… soft? I remember going through the underground tunnel during the competition… oh shit…!_

Ragna eyes shot open. He would've been staring up at the ceiling but he found himself staring into a young girl's eyes. Light blue eyes. Silver hair draped over him and tickled his cheeks. Noticing that he was awake, she stared into Ragna's eyes and gave a small but teasing smile.

"Sleep well?"

"Gah!" Ragna fell onto the floor in an effort to get away from the girl. "What the hell are you doing here Krulcifer?!"

"In all honesty, I followed you here." she said as she rose from the bench where they were resting on. "Although it took me to catch up to you, I found you unconscious in the middle of the hallway so I carried you here and offered my lap as place to rest your head."

Ragna found himself blushing for more than enough reasons. A) he had been followed without noticing. B) He had to be carried by Krulcifer of all people to a safe area. C) he was offered a random lap pillow.

"Look, I appreciate the help." Ragna's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "But that damn contest or whatever is still going on. I'd be lying if I said that I trust you just for doing me a solid."

"No need." she said calmly as she raised her hand and gestured to the nearby grandfather clock. Ragna had noticed that he had been out for a solid hour. "The competition ended a while ago."

Ragna reached into his pocket and pulled out the red form. With a sigh of relief, his mind was set on tearing the paper into red strips of confetti.

"Wait a second." the silver haired girl said as Ragna paused to listen to her. "The headmaster wishes to take that form back. Since you are clearly exhausted, it would be best if I returned it for you."

Ragna let out an irritated snort as Krulcifer reiterated his current state. There was no doubt that he was suspicious but he was too exhausted to give the current situation as second thought. Ragna wanted nothing more than to return to his dorm, go to sleep and get the day over with. Extending his arm, Ragna gave the paper to the girl. A bell suddenly rang throughout the campus to signify that it had reached the next hour. At the same moment, the door bursted open as a mob of girls, lead by Lisesharte, filed into the room. As they kept coming, they all stared at the paper Krulcifer held in her hand. Hopelessly lost, Ragna glanced at the clock and saw that it was nowhere near the hour but his blood froze as it took him mere seconds to connect the dots.

The former most wanted criminal in the world had been duped by the simplest trick in the book: the clock hands had been adjusted while has was unconscious.

"Hey." Ragna said, doing his best to suppress an unyielding maelstrom of anger. "How long was I actually out?"

"Five minutes." she replied happily as she waved the red paper victoriously. "Now for my first request-"

'You're already gonna jump on this shit?" Ragna growled.

"I was the winner of this competition, was I not?" she said proudly. Ragna could feel his eyebrow twitching. Before he could retaliate, Krulcifer slid close to Ragna's face to where they were almost touching. Clutching his shoulder, the girl leaned in close. From somewhere in the room, he heard Lisesharte give a feral growl.

"For my first request:" she whispered the words but they were definitely audible to the rest of the room. "I want you to be my boyfriend for this entire week."

All aggression evaporated from his being as Ragna numbly stared at the girl. Perfectly timed with the rest of the girls, he let out a cry of desperation and utter confusion.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Sitting at his desk, Ragna looked at his notes which were mostly blank. His mind had been elsewhere for the entire morning. For the most part, he had slept soundly but his mind was far from clear. He felt like screaming but he opted to bury his face into his arms as he let out a sigh. Class had just been dismissed for a lunch break but the series of recent events had let a sour taste in his mouth. The entire lecture had gone in one ear and out the other as all he could think about was the night prior.

He could only remember his mouth falling agape as he stared at Krulcifer. All around him, the crowd of students were going hysterical. Earsplitting screams and squeals filled the compact room as Krulcifer gave a self-gratified simile, seemingly delighting herself in Ragna's torment. He raised his voice and tried to get answers but the silver haired girl remained silent. Shortly after Lisesharte stepped in and tried to persuade Krulcifer otherwise. The two girl's launched into a heated debate that not even Ragna wanted to get in between. It was also on this night that Ragna made a note to himself to not get on the princess' bad side, something he'd experienced once before. It wasn't until Relie stepped in and broke the two up. With a sigh of relief, Ragna tried to talk to the headmaster in order to get himself out of the deal with no success. The older woman made a few, short announcements, congratulated Krulcifer on her victory and instructed the students to go back to their dorms. Far too frustrated with his current situation, Ragna went back to his room without a single word and fell immediately asleep.

"Hello? Helloooo~?"

Ragna snapped out of his trance to find that he was being poked on the cheek. He smiled nervously and shifted his gaze. He already had a pretty good idea of who it was. Long, flowing silver hair glowed in the midday sunlight. Jolting blue eyes stared at him dreamily and a sweet aroma filled the air.

"Hi Krulcifer." Ragna said as a vein popped out of his forehead. She let out a small giggle at his irritated expression and mentioned that he was "cute" when he was angry, a comment to which the Reaper growled at.

Krulcifer had taken the empty desk near him and began pestering him. Whether she was doing this out of boredom or just for amusement was a question that Ragna couldn't answer so he quickly decided both.

"Alright." he growled. "Are you just gonna sit there and annoy the shit outta me or do you actually need something?"

In a single swift motion, the girl's hand reached for his and ensnared it in an iron grip. From somewhere on the other side of the room, Lisesharte let out some sort of God-forsaken, inhuman screech at the sight and promptly marched over to the two.

"Just what do you two think you're doing?!" she demanded as her gaze fell upon their locked hands.

"Isn't it obvious?" Krulcifer scoffed. "I'm merely taking advantage of the lunch break and enjoying some time to be with me boyfriend."

Both Lisesharte's and Ragna's face went pure crimson at the notion. Ragna attempted to protest but all that came out of his mouth were hushed grunts and slurred half-words. Lisesharte on the other hand was much more vocal about her opposition on the subject concerning the two "lovers".

"Are you sure you want him as you're boyfriend?" Lisesharte asked cooly as her eyebrow twitched. "To begin with, he doesn't seem to be the type of person who'd make a suitable boyfriend."

 _Just ask the damn harem glasses..._

"Person is far too generous of a term." Krulcifer chimed in. "In regards to his manners, he is much more akin to that of a feral beast."

"You guys do know I'm right here, right?" a very agitated Ragna said as he sat between the two girls.

 _It sounds like I'm listening to the damn Rabbit in stereo right now..._

"I know right?!" the princess shouted, completely ignoring the blonde haired boy's question. "He's far too dangerous and has an unhealthy addiction to conflict."

"Indeed, not only are his tendencies nothing short of atrocious, his language and manners are not any better." Krulcifer responded, wagging a finger at Ragna.

 _Finally remember I'm here…?_

"And on top of all of that," Lisesharte said, her cheeks turning a light shade of red. "He's seems to still have some perverted tendencies."

"LIKE HELL I DO!"

Krulcifer could only give a disapproving nod in agreement to Lisesharte's statement, completely ignoring Ragna's outburst. Some of the other students who had caught wind of the conversation began to slowly space themselves from Ragna and the the two girls. Ragna narrowed his eyes at the two as they smiled at him.

"See?" Lisesharte declared proudly. "Ragna is nothing but a brute with almost no redeeming qualities. As your _friend_ I advise that you get out of this relationship while you still can."

"While all of this may be true…" Krulcifer began as she got up and walked over to Ragna, forcing him to move over as her slim frame pressed against his, her face getting close enough to his face to where he could feel her breathing against his ear. "That is why I'm going to shape Ragna into the man I want him to be."

"Just try it." Ragna growled as he tried to get Krulcifer to move away from him. Unfortunately for him, the latter would not budge. To make matters worse, his face was beginning to grow increasingly red.

"If you understand, will you leave us be?" Krulcifer requested. With no way to retaliate, Lisesharte marched away from the two, leaving Ragna and Krulcifer to by themselves.

"Was that really necessary?" Ragna's eyes narrowed as he glared at the silver haired girl.

"But of course." Krulcifer said as she got up, pulling Ragna with her. "Come with me, we need to talk."

 _Hell, it's not like I have control over my life anyways…_

* * *

"So you actually did need something from me after all, who woulda guessed?" Ragna said sarcastically as he and Krulcifer made their way to the rooftop.

"I was planning on bringing you up here but we had a bit of a rather…" Krulcifer paused as she carefully picked her words. "Unexpected confrontation."

"Tell me about it." Ragna complained as he leaned his back against the wall. "And was berating me really necessary?"

"We were merely speaking the truth." the girl said with a shrug. Ragna snorted at the comment and crossed his arms as he waited for his partner to speak.

"I'm guessing why I had you become my boyfriend, correct?" Much to Ragna's surprise, Krulcifer didn't wasn't giving him a wry or sardonic look. Instead her expression was much more serious even a bit somber. The girl's troubled expression off put him enough to just give a nod instead of the usual snarky remark.

"I believe that I have not told you about myself.' the silver haired girl began. "I'm from the country of Ymir and an adopted daughter of the Einfolk house. Before coming here, I was told to secure an engagement with a noble family."

"I've heard a few things about the Einfolk house." Ragna said as he closed his eyes, as if going into deep thought. "You guys are a noble family right? And if so, then why the hell do you need me? I can tell for a fact that you don't want a damn thing to do with me."

"I wouldn't say that's entirely incorrect." Krulcifer chuckled softly as she joined Ragna. "As for you becoming my lover, it's for political reasons."

"Lemme guess." one of Ragna's eyes shot open and glanced at the girl. "Arranged marriage?"

The girl was left speechless at Ragna's guess. An astonished gasp escaped her mouth but her lips quickly formed a small smile.

"I guess I don't give you enough credit Ragna." Krulcifer said as she walked away from the wall and turned to face Ragna. "You're a lot sharper than you look."

"Heh, I'm able to wrap my head around this kinda crap easily." Ragna scoffed. "I'm used to seeing this side of politics. I bit too much I might add. But this still doesn't answer anything."

"Perhaps." Krulcifer responded. "Several days from now, a servant from the Einfolk house will be dispatched here. Their purpose? They are to send a report on the progress of my engagement. Your job is just as simple: fool this person into thinking you are my boyfriend."

"Okay…" Ragna said uneasily. "But how the hell am i supposed to fool them? I can't act to save my life and I sure as hell don't have any dating experience."

"It's fine." Krulcifer said readily with a smile on her face. "I don't have any experience of the subject of relationships either."

"That's not the point, dammit." Ragna buried his face into his palms. With a sigh, Ragna looked up as he saw Krulcifer leaning towards him. He looked away to avoid eye contact as his face began growing warm. "So you just need me to trick this person into thinking I'm your boyfriend, right?"

"That's the easy part." she admitted as she stepped back from him. "We also need to fool everyone else to make this charade seem legitimate."

 _Ugh… I've been dragged into the weirdest shit lately. Oh what the hell? It's only a week, it can't be that bad._

"Alright, fine. I'll help you out with this thing but after this damn thing is done and over with-"

"I won't bother you again, I swear my house's name." Krulcifer interrupted. Ragna gave a small nod and held out an open hand.

"Well, I guess from today on we're partners in crime." Ragna said awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head. "Or some shit like that."

"You know something Ragna?" Krulcifer said as she laughed at the gesture. "This may prove to be the most interesting week of my life."

With her final words, she extended her arm and shook Ragna's.

"As much as I hate to admit it." Ragna said as they broke off from the handshake. "I don't think I can argue with you on that one."

"Right?"

 **Author's note: Yay! Exposition chapter's out of the way! :D**

 **I apologize for the amount of time it took to get this chapter out! I've been pretty busy with high school and work and everything's just been a general shit-show lately. I do have the next chapter well under way so it should be out soon (at earliest sometime next week) so stick around! Thanks for the patience and thanks very muchfor the read ^-^**


	5. First Time Experiences

Sitting alone in a rather large but dimly lit room, Ragna sat at a table with only a wax candle to keep him company. With his eyes growing heavy, he felt his upper body tilt forward. With a sudden jolt, the young blonde pulled himself up and cursed to himself for almost falling asleep… for the fiftieth time in what had felt like the past five minutes. With a light slap on the cheek, he regained his focus as he picked up his pencil once more and stared down at the worksheet in front of him.

 _Alright so start by multiplying both sides by... wait. No... you have to divide for this one right? Start with the exponent maybe? Ugh, God dammit! I can't focus in these conditions!_

Ragna slammed himself head-first into the table. Even though he and Krulcifer had made their agreement only three days ago, it had felt like an eternity to him. Acting was definitely not one of his talents. His antisocial nature and Krulcifer's straightforwardness mixed about as well as water and oil. On more than one occasion, she had attempted holding his hand and even cuddle him. One memorable moment was when she had attempted to feed him, despite his resisting. Just remembering the events made Ragna grimace.

Turning his head to the side, he was greeted with a mountain of papers. Giving a hushed but agitated growl, Ragna get up to stretch before sitting back down to finish the problem had was working on. As he moved on to the next, he let out a loud yawn.

"My, hasn't anyone ever told you to cover your mouth when yawning?"

The sudden voice almost made Ragna jump out of his skin. Not bothering to turn around, he glanced over his shoulder and saw Krulcifer standing in the doorway behind him. With a small smile she walked up towards him. Placing her hands on Ragna's shoulders, she glanced over his shoulder to see what he was so absorbed in.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Ragna asked as his drowsiness was slowly being overtaken by an ever so familiar sense of irritation. "It's like one in the morning."

"I could say the same to you." she replied cheerily. With a quick motion, she snatched the writing utensil out of his hand and walked him through the question he had been attempting to solve.

"I gotta say," Ragna said as he stared at the paper in amazement. "You aren't half bad at this crap."

Krulcifer gave a sarcastic curtsy in response to the compliment only to make Ragna roll his eyes and give a small chuckle. This time, it was Krulcifer who had taken notice of the daunting pile of papers that lay before Ragna.

"Someone's been really slacking on their classwork I see." Ragna scoffed at the comment and inspected the worksheet to make sure it was completely filled out.

"Not someone." he said as he shoved the completed worksheet to the side and began to work on the next work. "It's more of everyone. With _Orochi_ in the shop, I finally took a look at that damn request box. Turns out a good majority of them were just requests for me to do their homework. With me being behind and all, I decided to finish that big-ass heap of papers before going to bed."

"I see." Krulcifer said as she turned to leave. "We'd better get settled in then."

"Wait a second. We?" Ragna raised an eyebrow and began wondering if his lack of sleep was causing him to have auditory hallucinations. To clarify his confusion, Krulcifer smiled and nodded to him.

"I'll be right back, I'm going to go prepare tea for us." without another word, the silver haired girl disappeared around the corner.

Moments later, she returned with two small glasses and a large steaming pot. Ragna gently took the in his hands and poured himself a small amount of tea. With the sleep deprivation kicking in, he immediately went to take a sip only to scald his tongue. The boy flinched as the burning liquid entered his mouth, all the while Krulcifer sat beside him doing her best to suppress giggles.

 _I have the strangest feeling that tonight's gonna be a long night..._

The sudden consumption of the scorching liquid, Ragna found himself to be suddenly more alert. Mentally dismissing the incident, Ragna grabbed a new worksheet and got to work with Krulcifer doing the same.

The two worked vigorously but all the while, the two were making small talk, helping each other out and most importantly: drinking tea. The session was also beneficial to Ragna because he had someone to talk to as a way to prevent him from falling asleep, at least not as easily, and Krulcifer acted as a sort of tutor for him.

Within an hour, the entire mass of papers had been completed. Satisfied with their work, the two gave each other a small smile and organized the stack of papers. Splitting the large pile, each of them carried half back to Ragna's room.

"Hey Ragna, are you free tomorrow?" Krulcifer asked as they stopped in front of the room in order to set the papers down.

"Well I got a bunch of requests to fill." Ragna sighed as he leaned against the door all the while glaring at the mountain of worksheets at his door. "But after tonight, I don't feel like touching another one of those damn things for a while. Besides, don't think my Drag-Ride will be fixed by tomorrow so I won't be able to train."

"If that's the case, would you mind coming on date with me tomorrow morning?" the girl was slightly blushing as the words rolled off her tongue.

"It might be the exhaustion talking," Ragna said as he found a sudden interest in the ceiling. "But sure, I don't mind. It'll definitely give this entire act a sliver of credibility."

"Good to hear, thanks Ragna!" the girl happily skipped down the hallway with much more energy than he had anticipated her to have. Before she vanished from sight, she turned back towards Ragna and gave him a playful wink.

"See you tomorrow."

* * *

 _God dammit..._ _why did I agree to get up this early for this shit?_

The courtyard at the mouth of the campus was relatively empty save for a few group of students wandering aimlessly. As per usual, Ragna was standing by himself as he waited for his partner to arrive. Being a weekend, he was out of his school uniform and instead wore a short-sleeved white v-neck, light brown pants, brown boots and the tan vest he had when he first arrived.

Shoving a hand into his pockets, he leaned down and plucked a piece of grass. After a few seconds of fiddling, he took the it and pressed the vegetation gently against his lips. He closed his eyes as he careful blew into the foliage, a simple but pleasant tune filled the morning air.

 _It's pretty damn nice to hear a whistle that doesn't signify the damn apocalypse every now and then._

"That was lovely." a voice said from beside him. "Where did you learn how to do that?"

"When you spend a lot of your time in and around nature, you tend to pick up strange little knacks like this." Ragna said plainly as he cracked open an eye. Low and behold, it was Krulcifer.

Luckily for him, she wasn't wearing anything too fancy for their "date". The girl wore a long-sleeved white shirt with blue highlights that left her shoulders exposed and black leggings. Strangely enough she had a cavalry sword-esque Sword Device on her, something that made Ragna extremely bitter to remind himself of his inability to train.

"So what's on today's schedule?" Ragna asked, doing his best to sound interested as he began to grow increasingly aware of the stares the two were getting.

"Oh?" his partner said as she raised an eyebrow. "You don't have any suggestions yourself?"

"Well considering the last time I went into town I pretty much broke the damn law." Ragna replied as he discarded the grass whistle. "Besides, I told you I'm not exactly the best when it comes to this kinda thing. What about you? You got any suggestions?"

"I do." Krulcifer exclaimed happily. "Shopping, actually."

"Just my luck." Ragna muttered bitterly. "Don't you really need to worry about having your uniform? I mean, it is sorta required that students wear the same thing during school hours."

"Not for myself, rather it's for you." Ragna raised an eyebrow. For him, his statement still stood and he'd already been well accustomed wearing the exact the same clothes for multiple days at a time.

"You know what, nevermind. Come on. Let's go." Ragna said quickly as he began walking down the stone road.

"Well isn't someone feeling assertive today?" the girl said playfully as she caught up to him, walking shoulder to shoulder.

"More of tired and a bit pissed if I had to say." Ragna snorted.

Far ahead of them, the city seemed to be waking up up as the lamps flickered off. Keeping pace with him, Krulcifer couldn't help but muse at her partner's usual irritated behavior. Without warning, her arm shot out and linked with his.

"You idiot!" Ragna growled, his face was bright red. Through gritted teeth, he hissed as he tried to shake her off. "What the hell do you think you're up to?"

"You're so cruel." the girl said with a surprising amount of injury in her voice. Whether it was legitimate or fake, Ragna couldn't tell. "I'm your girlfriend, we should be able to do this much."

"Look, we're pretty far from school grounds and I doubt anyone'll give enough of a shit to follow us." calming himself down, the words came off with a sigh from the boy. "You can drop the bullshit until we're in town."

"Nope!" Krulcifer said as she gave Ragna a playful smile and used both arms to cling to him, much to his annoyance.

 _Why the hell did I sign up for this…?_

* * *

Despite the early morning, the sun beat warmly against the city and its streets were already bustling with people. Civilians lined the streets as shops were beginning to open. The aroma of coffee wafted through the air from the multitude of nearby cafes. Chatter filled the air as different shop owners yelled back and forth as they prepared for the day.

Still clinging to Ragna, Krulcifer's eyes shifted from left to right as she surveyed the lively street. Despite all the cheerful atmosphere of the city's square, she could tell that Ragna was still seething. Continuing down the street, the two stopped at a cafe as the two hadn't eaten. Krulcifer decided on a muffin and a small cup of flavored coffee while Ragna decided to get a large cup of black coffee. Thankfully, Ragna actually had some money on him due to finally getting paid for his work at the academy.

"I feel a bit more awake now." Ragna said as he took a sip. "And this time I didn't burn my damn mouth."

"I guess it's true when they say that progress is steady." Ragna gave a low growl at the wry comment as his partner gave him an innocent smile.

Despite his sour tone, he still managed a small smirk. With a sigh, he set his cup in his lap and took in the scenery. The two had taken to eating on a bench in the shade of a small tree that gave them a decent view of the city. People and carriages lined the streets as conversations and laughter filled the plaza. Some were entering various stores and some were leaving with large bags in their hands. Scanning further along the stone road, Ragna saw a few street performers could be seen as small crowds gathered around them, not helping much with the already crowded area. He gave an internal scowl at the sight, bitter that they were making about as much as he does with only half the effort.

"So where is this place you want to take me anyways?" Ragna asked nonchalantly as he went to take another sip of his coffee.

"It's right down the road, actually." getting up from the bench, Krulcifer beckoned Ragna to follow her which he did, albeit hesitantly.

What should have been a five minute walk turned into roughly fifteen minutes of wading through an ever-growing mob of people. As a 'safety precaution' or so Krulcifer called it, she held Ragna's hand and guided him as a mother would her child. When they finally reached their destination, Ragna discovered it was on the other side of the street. With no other option, the two dove head-first against the current of traffic and managed to get inside of the shop.

Ragna's heart turned to lead as he took a look at the inside of the store. All around him and his partner were very expensive looking, custom-tailored suits and dresses. The people entering and leaving the store all wore fancy clothing and seemed to speak with a proud and dignified manner.

 _Great… nobles._

Krulcifer tugged on Ragna's arm as they began to talk with one of the employees. After a short conversation, the worker gave a nod and motioned for Ragna to follow them to the back of the store.

Entering the back room various materials lined numerous benches that stood side by side in the corners of the room. Rays of sunlight shone through the window and reflected off of the multiple mirrors that lined the walls. Tape measures, needle, thread and other miscellaneous sewing materials hung above each of the benches eager to be put work.

"Alright young man." the woman said as she grabbed one of the tape measures and unravelled it. "Shall we proceed with the measurements?."

"Alright, whatever you say." Ragna said sheepishly as he held out his arm. From behind him, Krulcifer gave a small giggle and the woman in front of him gave him a deadpanned stare.

"What?"

"You do know that you're going to need to strip so she can get precise measurements, right?" the silver haired girl said through her fit of suppressed laughter.

"What the hell?!" Ragna screamed as his face went bright red.

"Please sir, not so loud." the employee said with a nervous yet stern tone.

"It'll be fine." Krulcifer said as she waved her hand dismissively. "You only need to take off your shirt. You didn't actually think I meant that you had to go nude did you?"

Ragna refused to say a word, instead he stood silently as if he was in deep thought.

"...Is it too late to back out of this thing?" Ragna asked with a whisper. Krulcifer gave him a small smile and the woman began tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for the two of them to finish their discussion.

 _Of course it is..._

* * *

Seemingly counting down the hours by the second, Ragna couldn't wait to get out of the shop. After being a temporary prisoner for a few days, Ragna thought he'd never have to find himself locked in a single position for an extensive period of time ever again. He was wrong. What ensued during the following hours was nothing but pure torture for Ragna. Having to stand still for a couple of minutes was bad enough for him. Now try a few of hours. Every once in awhile he would glance over to see how Krulcifer was doing. Much to his surprise, she didn't seem to have any issues waiting for him to get finished, staying attentive and awake all the while. Eventually, the measurements were finished the two made their way up to the front of the store in order to pay.

"Okay sir." the woman began as she slipped behind the counter. "Your total will be $2995.00."

Ragna's jaw flung open in an instant and his eyes widened.

 _What the hell?! I don't even have a fraction of that! Dammit Krulcifer… I know that you enjoy screwing me but you're overstepping your damn boundaries!_

"It's fine." a voice said from behind him. "This was my idea so I will pay for it."

Stepping up to the counter, Krulcifer reached into her pocket and pulled out a large stack of bills which, once more, made Ragna's jaw hit the floor. Ragna tied to speak but only squawks and grunts came out.

"Are you surprised?" she smiled back at him. "Don't worry, this falls within the budget my family gave me. I'm allowed using it freely."

"Tch… freakin nobility…" he inaudibly muttered to himself.

"Thank you very much ma'am." the worker said as she gave her change for her purchase. "The suit will be ready in a few days. Come pick it up then."

"Of course. Thank you as well for your time." Krulcifer said politely as she turned around to leave. Ragna had no issues with the situation and quickly followed her lead.

"What the hell was that?!" Ragna asked, flustered, as the two stepped out onto the streets. Krulcifer gave him a playful smirk.

"You didn't really expect me to force all of that on you, did you?" making a quick lunge for his hand, Krulcifer dragged Ragna once more through the streets.

"Considering what you've already put me through." he muttered. "I definitely wouldn't put it past you."

The two spoke little as they weaved through the crowds of people. Ragna hadn't realized just how long the two of them were in the shop. Taking a look around, the sky was beginning to transition into a deep orange color. After a short while, the two stopped at an area where the road cut off and led to a small park-like area. The area was relatively packed due to the evening's mild atmosphere and the cool weather. Some people sat in the grass on blankets as they conversed with one another while others were eating. In the middle of the park was a large fountain surrounded by four benches. After a few complaints from Ragna, the two decided it was a good place to rest for the moment and sat down on one of the benches.

"I'm guessing that you really enjoyed getting your measurements?" Krulcifer asked, trying to break the silence between the two.

"If it wasn't for the soreness, I probably would've fallen asleep on my damn feet." Ragna sighed as he glanced at the fountain as if tracing the light's reflection off of the water. "I'm guessing you enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I did."

"Hardly." the girl folded her arms across her chest at the comment. The unexpected sharpness of her tone caused Ragna to turn his head. "To be completely honest, I hated the atmosphere. Truthfully, I despise nobility."

 _Her too, huh? She did hint at family issues when we first met. It's probably not something I should prod at anyways..._

What followed was a few moments of tense silence. With Ragna being himself, he doubted that he could do much to improve the situation as far as words were concerned. With no other alternatives, he took a few seconds to survey the area, something out of the corner of Ragna's eye caught his attention.

"Stay here for a sec." he said as he quickly got up from the bench. "I'll be right back."

Within seconds, the crowd had swallowed Ragna. Krulcifer sat alone in the park and looked up at the the sky. The hectic sounds of children running and playing as well as the miscellaneous noises from the nearby shops was contradicted by the peacefully soft splashing of the fountain water and the chirping of crickets complemented the evening well.

"It's almost that time, huh?" the girl whispered to herself. From beside her, she saw a familiar set of emerald eyes and spiky blonde hair. Turning her head, she saw that the boy had something clutched tightly in his palm.

"Here." Ragna said, allowing himself a small smile as he held out an open palm. In his hand was a small silver pendant with a small sky blue jewel.

"I wanted to find a way to repay you for today and what not so…" His voice trailed of as Krulcifer stared wide-eyed at the necklace. Reaching her hand out, she slowly took the necklace in her hands and inspected it.

"You know something Ragna?" the Reaper turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "You really are terrible when it comes to romance."

Krulcifer let out a giggle as Ragna scratched the back of his head with a hint of embarrassment.

"I'm trying dammit." the boy snorted. "If you don't like the damn thing, just toss it."

"I won't." she said sternly as she undid the buckle. "There was no malice intended, rather I really appreciate you doing something like this for me."

For the first time, Krulcifer gave Ragna a smile that wasn't teasing or sarcastic rather it was one of bliss. Ragna felt his face getting warm and he quickly turned away. A few moments later, he felt a tap on his shoulder and he hesitantly turned.

"So how does it look?" Krulcifer asked as she leaned forward.

"It looks fine." Ragna said flatly as he turned his head to avoid eye contact. The unimpressed tone of his voice was received with a frown from the girl. "Anyways, it's getting kinda late. You wanna head back?"

"Actually I was hoping we could get something to eat before going back." retreating quickly, Krulcifer rose from the bench and stood next to Ragna. "Is that alright with you?"

"You feelin' okay? Up to this point I've just had to ride with your antics but now you're actually asking for my opinion?" Ragna said sarcastically. The silver haired girl gave no response as he let out a sigh.

"Yeah, I don't mind. We haven't had anything since this morning and after seeing all these people eating, I could definitely go for something to eat."

"Good to hear." she said happily as she bounded off, dragging Ragna with her once more through the crowded streets.

* * *

Even though she had taken the lead, it was clear to Ragna that his partner had no clear idea of where the two of them were heading. Due to the relatively late hour, all of the restaurants that they passed were packed with lines out the door. With the streets beginning to fill, Krulcifer led Ragna down a relatively quiet street where there was virtually no people but still plenty of shops. With the sun beginning to set overhead, Ragna finally thought he and Krulcifer had found some peace and quiet. That was until he noticed the shadow of a peculiar figure in the reflection of one of the windows.

"MOVE!" with a sudden shout, Ragna tackled the girl just in time as one of the windows bursted, sending glass, wood and metal in every which direction.

Dust and smoke clouded his view as he searched frantically for their attackers. As the dust began to settle he noticed that up above them three Drag-Rides, all adorned with the familiar colors of the Old Empire, loomed while two men armed with swords surrounded them on the ground. As if on instinct, Ragna put one hand in front of the girl while the other reached behind him to grab his sword… only to find that it wasn't there.

 _Dammit! Of course my damn Sword Device is in the shop when these assholes decide to show up._

"Don't move!" one of the men on the ground spoke as he brought the point of his sword to Ragna's neck. "If you even think about running, my men up above will shoot to kill."

 _A kidnapping? But they were clearly aiming for Krulcifer. The hell's going on here…?_

Through his peripherals, he could see the men snickering as they readied their weapons. He could feel the cold steel pricking his throat as he held his glare with the stranger.

"Good dog." the man said with a satisfied smirk. Lowering his sword and stepping back, he motioned for his comrades to move in. From behind him, Ragna felt a hand gripping his shoulder.

"Hey Ragna, I know this is asking a bit much as you don't have a weapon on your person." Krulcifer spoke with an unexpected amount of calmness in spite of the situation. "But can you deal with the two in front of us?"

"Easily." Ragna whispered as he glanced back at her as a hint of surprise shone in her eyes at his response. He wasted no time answering and did so without hesitating. "But what about you?'

"Don't worry about me." the girl moved her hand towards the Sword Device holstered on her hip. "I have a plan."

(cue K: Return of Kings OST - Battle of the Dance)

"You'd better. I'm counting on you!" he said as raised his voice, catching the thugs off guard. Without warning, Ragna dashed forwards with incredible speed.

 _What's with that agility?!_ _Right now isn't the time to be impressed. I need to hold up on my end of the deal!_

Closing in fast on the the man who originally threatened and taunted him, he gave a yelp of surprise as he fumbled with the blade in his hand. The response from him was slow but he managed a clumsy slash upwards as the boy charged him, leaving him open. Sidestepping with ease, Ragna got low and went in for a low sweep of the man's legs. As the man began to fall, he was met by a hard elbow to the jaw that sent him tumbling back as his sword flew out of his hand. Not a moment too soon, Ragna snatched the blade out of the air and wheeled around as he parried the second man's blade with his own. From up above him, Ragna saw that the Drag-Rides were taking aim.

 _Like hell I'm gonna let you!_

Breaking of from the parry, Ragna kicked his aggressor back hard enough to give him some space. Taking a second to aim roughly for center of mass, Ragna hurled the sword like a javelin towards one of the Drag-Knights. The man let out shrill cry as the blade flew and embedded itself deep in his left shoulder.

"Bastard!" one of the others yelled as they noticed their wounded companion.

The other two quickly drew their Breath Guns and launched a burst of energy from the barrels of their weapons. Ragna had just finished knocking the other remaining man unconcious, leaving him unable to react

 _Dammit, this is gonna sting…!_

Ragna dropped to one knee and covered his eyes with his arms as he braced himself. A large explosion followed by a storm of debris engulfed the area that he had been standing. However when the dust had settled, he found himself alive and kicking despite the attack. As he uncovered his eyes, he saw seven blue, octagonal barriers shielding him from the front.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Krulcifer said from behind him. "I can take it from here."

The barriers quickly moved behind him towards the sound of the girl's voice. Glancing back he saw that, in the shadow's of the fading sunlight, she also had a Drag-Ride of her own. The frame of the machine white with black accents and slim, almost delicate in appearance. Blue energy traced the machine's legs, arms and shoulders. Three-pronged wings extended from the shoulders as the undersides gave a similar blue glow to the rest of the Drag-Ride. The barriers moved into position and formed a dome-like shell at the back of the machine. In it's hand it held a long white rifle.

 _I'll be damned… Krulcifer has a Divine Drag-Ride too, huh?_

"We outnumber it three-to-one!" one of the men shouted. "Outmaneuver it and take it down!"

Obeying the order, the other two moved in tandem with their newly-appointed commander. The three moved to surround the girl for a quick and efficient kill but little did they know that their victim had an ace up her sleeve.

" _Wise Blood."_

The girl's perspective seemed to slow to a fraction of normal. The three enemy Drag-Rides moved in slow motion, giving off mirage-like afterimages as three blue sigils marked the destination of each of the Drag-Rides. Releasing the ability, time returned to its normal pace as three shots were loosed from the rifle's barrel in quick succession. Three fireballs filled the evening sky like fireworks as Krulcifer lowered her Drag-Ride's weapon.

(end theme)

"Just what the hell was that…?" Ragna muttered in amazement.

"That's Fafnir's Divine Raiment, Wise Blood." a voice came from beside him. "In short, it has the ability to see the future."

The blonde youth wheeled around in shock, finding a strangely dress Lisesharte next to him, along with Philphie.

"You two?!" taking notice of the commotion, Krulcifer began descending to meet with their unexpected guests.

"I didn't expect to see you two here." Krulcifer said politely as she deactivated Fafnir. "What are you doing on a fine evening like this?"

"N-nothing!" Lisesharte said trying to wave off the almost tangible suspicion from the silver haired girl. "Just taking a stroll through the city!"

"And what about the disguises?" Ragna asked with a raised eyebrow, joining Krulcifer on her quest for answers.

"These aren't disguises!" the blonde blurted. "This is how I dress outside of school. I guess you could call it a hobby. Got a problem with that?"

"Uh-huh…" snorting skeptically, Ragna turned to look at Philphie who was also dressed out of the normal. "And what about you Phi?"

"Miss Lisha and I were actua-"

Her words were cut off as one of the goons that Ragna had knocked unconscious earlier sprung to life and took off in a dead sprint. It didn't take long for Ragna to notice as he began to pursue.

 _Dammit, this what happens if you don't keep your enemies in check you moron!_

Quickly giving chase, Ragna slowed for a moment as he snatched a Sword Device lying on the ground and draw it as he gave chase. With the strangler almost a full block ahead of him, Ragna had no hope to catch up to him. All hope to catch the man seemingly vanished as he rounded a corner. Ragna stopped as he caught his breath, growing increasingly infuriated at his inability to stop his target. That was until the man came flying backwards as his back slammed into a wall, causing him to fall unconscious yet again. Around the corner, a tall yet young woman with bowl-cut black hair dressed in a formal black suit walked out and inspected the man.

 _The hell? Didn't know Kagura's lap-dog followed me here._

Still slightly on edge, Ragna readied his blade as he took notice of the one holstered on the woman's hip. The nameless woman turned towards Ragna and gave a polite bow.

"Good evening Young Mistress." she said as Ragna gave her a confused expression. "It's been quite a while."

"Like hell!" Ragna shouted but before he could finish scolding the stranger, Krulcifer ran past him and met the woman.

Connecting the dots almost immediately, Ragna silently cursed himself under his breath. Taking a glance back at his supposed lover, Ragna concluded that the two were familiar with each other just by the way they interacted.

"Mind introducing me?" Ragna asked as her walked up to the two women.

"Of course." Krulcifer said as she surveyed the area. "This is the Einfolk family butler, Alterize McClair. She is the one here to check on my engagement."

Once more, the butler gave a bow but this time it was actually directed towards him.

"Young Miss." with a curious glance aimed towards Ragna, she addressed Krulcifer. "Would you mind telling me who this young man may be?"

"Of course. This my boyfriend Ragna Kisaragi. Isn't he wonderful?" Krulcifer said with a happy smile. Ragna, of course, cringed slightly.

Krulcifer walked over Ragna's side and quickly searched the area in case of another ambush. "I have much to inform you of concerning him but we were actually looking for a place to eat. I believe it would be safer to continue talks there."

"Couldn't agree more." Ragna said bluntly as Krulcifer and Alterize began walking. With a sigh, he followed behind them but no before turning to Lisesharte and Philphie. "You two are more than welcome to join us for dinner. Just make sure you pay for yourselves."

* * *

As they traveled for a short period, Rana hung back behind the group still holding the stolen Sword Device to ensure that they weren't being followed. It didn't take long for the group to find a restaurant. Quickly piling in, they reserved a table for four and were seated quickly. As they placed drink orders, Krulcifer and the woman spent a great deal of time talking to each other. Meanwhile, Lisesharte kept poking fun at Ragna, reminding him of the last time they ate out together and telling him to pay his bill once it arrived. The passing waiters and waitresses gave the spiky haired blonde a disdainful glare as they passed. All the while, Philphie was busy staring down at her stomach as it made the occasional, animalistic growl. Deciding to ignore the princess' harassment and looking at the menu, Ragna noticed a certain dish that seemed all too familiar to him.

 _Hold on. Noodles with broth, shrimp and tempura?!_

As their server came around to take their order, Ragna was the first to order. Quickly, and repeatedly, pointing to the certain item on the menu, the waiter quickly received the message. As everyone else finished placing their orders, Krulcifer tapped on Ragna's shoulder as he joined the conversation between the two of them.

"Young Miss, I understand that you claim that you are in a relationship with this man." Alterize began, her voice stern. "But I believe you were told to find someone of a noble background to be engaged with. No offense to your partner, but he hardly seems of such lineage."

Krulcifer froze.

"None taken." Ragna said coolly, paying no mind to the sugar-coated insult. "You aren't exactly right. I'm actually a stray of sorts. I was originally part of the Kisaragi household, one of the twelve heads of the Duodecim."

Lisesharte shot him a skeptical glance and he too, shot her a glance.

 _Please just don't say anything to blow my cover. Just stay quiet till I'm done, please…!_

"When I was young, a rebel was single-handedly kicking the shit out of our military." continuing his lie, Ragna managed to remain calm. "As a high ranking family, there were rumors that the rebel would start attacking the noble families. Fearing the worst, my parents sent my brother, sister and me to live out in the countryside at a church with a long-time family friend."

Completely lost with the alien terminology, the butler gave a small nod as she gave up on trying to comprehend the legitimacy of his tale. Even Krulcifer seemed impressed, given by the shock on her face. Whether she actually believed him or not was fair game. Even so, Ragna gave himself a small pat on the back for coming up with a backstory on the spot.

"I see" Alterize said with slight unease. "However, I regret to inform you that-"

"Well, well." a mature, esteemed male voice came from the opposite side of the restaurant. "It appears that I have been shafted."

Turning his head quickly, Ragna noticed a tall young man with shoulder length blonde hair and pale violet eyes approaching them. The man wore a fancy white collared shirt complete with a tie, and grey pants. The man wore a long, elaborate, red cloak complete with gold trimming that was draped over his shoulders.

"Y-you?!" the butler's seemingly collected composure broke at the arrival of the mysterious man as she got up and kneeled at his feet. "We weren't scheduled to meet until tomorrow."

"I haven't forgotten, Miss Alterize but if I had to say that I had one weakness…" he said as he looked at Krulcifer with a kind smile and walked over to the girl. "It would be that I'm a bit hasty."

Deciding to remain silent, Ragna's eyes narrowed at the man. The stranger cupped Krilcifer's cheeks in one hand as he stared intently into her eyes who, in turn, gave a rather irritated expression.

"Your beauty is even greater than your reputation implies." he said as he inspected the girl's features. "You have yet to fill out your frame but I do look forward to your growth."

 _Tch. Everything about this bastard feels off..._

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Ragna's eyes narrowed as the man removed his hand from the girl's cheeks and instead held Krulcifer's with a great deal of care.

"Alterize." Krulcifer said as she shot a glare at the butler. "Who is this?"

"Dating back from the olden days of the Old Empire, he is from a noble family that has continued to produce extraordinary Drag-Knights for generations." in a grandiose fashion, Alterize introduced the man. "The Kreutzer family of the Four Noble Houses, He is Lord Balzeride Kreutzer."

"What does business does a member of the Four Nobles Houses have here?" Krulcifer asked sternly but not even a moment passed as the girl's eyes went wide.

"...It couldn't be!" the intensity in her voice was enough to shake even Ragna, even if only a bit. Everyone besides Balzeride seemed to be off-put by Krulcifer's tone. "Alterize, you…!"

"Yes, while it may have been rude of me…" the butler said as her expression darkened. "But tomorrow at our planned meeting, I will have you finalize your engagement to Lord Balzeride."

"Rather than later," the noble began with a smile. "I would like you to become this woman now. Let us build a good relationship, my future wife."

"God, you're making my ears bleed with this presumptuous bullshit." Ragna snorted as crossed his arms, his emerald eyes burned with hatred. "I'm not much of a people person but not even I would go around throwing labels on people I just met."

"Know your place boy!" Alterize snarled at Ragna, who merely rolled his eyes in response.

"It's quite alright Miss Alterize." Balzeride held his arm in front of the older woman as a means to prevent her from attacking Ragna. "But I do have to agree with her. That is hardly a way to address a stranger."

"Well first impressions aren't exactly my forte." Ragna said as he glared at the Balzeride. "Besides, you're making my _girlfriend_ uncomfortable so if you could back off, you'd be doing not only us, but yourself, a favor."

"My, my. Isn't someone a bit defensive?" Balzeride gave a small chuckle at the boy's agitated expression. "However, I am afraid that I cannot do that."

"Fine, then how about this." Ragna stood up and slammed his hand against the table, his eyes meeting Balzeride's. "If your family really does pride itself on their long line of elite Drag-Knights, then face me with your own Drag-Ride. If you win, the marriage can proceed normally. But if I win, I'm shutting down this stupid engagement, no questions asked!"

"As a member of the Kreutzer family, it would be an insult to back down." Ragna's adversary gave a malicious smile. "But I do hope that you realize how outmatched you are."

"Lord Balze -!" Alterize was swiftly cut off by Balzeride as he raised an arm.

"It's fine." the man said as he returned his attention back towards Ragna. "The news of our engagement hasn't been confirmed yet. It also seems that my future wife does not appreciate a forced marriage. As such, I shall show them both what I am capable of."

"I, for one, do not agree with this match." Krulcifer interrupted. Ragna eyes widened, concerned on what she would say next. "I refuse to stand idly by and have someone fight my battles for me, don't you agree Alterize?"

"What are your intentions, Young Miss?" Alterize's eyes narrowed at the young girl.

"I have a proposal: we have a duel in pairs." Krulcifer's tone was calm yet serious despite the outlandish suggestion. "You and Balzeride will fight Ragna and me. There will be no draws allowed."

"This has become quite interesting hasn't it?" laughing to himself quietly, Balzeride turned to leave. "Very well, I accept these conditions. Let us all meet three days from now when the moon is at it's highest. As for tomorrow, please tell them that I will not be attending. Instead I will be finding a suitable spot for our duel."

Walking away from the group, Balzeride gave one last glance back at them before leaving.

"I do hope you're not thinking of running away, boy."

With the noble's words seemingly hanging above them, they all sat in silence attempting to comprehend the situation Ragna had thrusted them as they ate. Even though Ragna seemed content eating his udon, he couldn't quell the massive storm brewing on the forefront of his mind.

 **Author's note: I know these last two chapters haven't been the most exciting but I promise that the next two will be much more action based and I can't wait to get them out, especially the duel! Anyways thanks for your patience and support! Bye for now!**

 **(P.S. Freaking love the K Project OST! ^-^)**


	6. Ugly Truths, Beautiful Facade

Two figures sat whispering to each other in a dimly lit room in the dead of night. The only sound that could be heard was the crackling of the fireplace as embers danced from the hearth. One sat attentively on a luxurious couch, pale eyes staring into the flames. The other, a thin hooded figure, stood behind the individual as they relayed select data.

"And you are sure this information is true?" the pale eyed individual asked. The hooded figure gave a nod to which the person on the couch gave a nefarious grin. Without another word, the two went their separate ways.

"I can always count on you, my _friend_."

* * *

"Oh you've gotta be shitting me…"

Ragna's jaw hung open as he stared at his Drag-Ride in the hangar of the warehouse. Lisesharte held her chest out and her head high as she presented the new and improved Orochi. It was completely unchanged except for one glaring detail: the right hand was now replaced by an oversized drill.

"So what do think?" Lisesharte asked, eager to hear her friend's supposed praise. "Pretty cool, right?"

"If you're asking me what I think…" Ragna paused, trying to do his best to sugar-coat his words. "I think I liked it better with two normal arms."

 _You're one to talk asshole…_

"By the way." Lisesharte gave him a curious look. "You seem overly attached to your arms. Any reason for that? I mean first there was the encounter with the Gargoyle at the arena and then-"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Ragna snapped. Feeling a subtle awkwardness fill the air, Ragna decided it would be best to focus on the matter at hand.

"Besides." he said hurriedly. "I have that duel with the Kreutzer asshole tomorrow night and I'd prefer to have my Drag-Ride in it's usual state."

"But a drill can double both as a utility tool but also a weapon!" the princess stared at him with pleading eyes. "Not to mention, it'll be great during the Ruin investigation tomorrow."

"And?" raising an eyebrow, Ragna gave Lisesharte a confused but relatively lax look. "The hell does that have to do with me?"

"Honestly Ragna..." the princess said crossly as she let out a sigh of exasperation. "Sometimes you can be pretty perceptive but other times you're way too thick-headed. Obviously I'm bringing this up because you will be accompanying us."

Ragna's eyes widened as the news was relayed to him.

"Excuse me?!" Ragna said, slightly dazed and extremely agitated. "Mind running that by me again?"

"Good grief." Lisesharte walked over to Ragna's Drag-Ride and inspected her handiwork as she continued to speak. "The investigation won't take but a few hours. You'll have plenty of time to prepare for your duel afterwards."

"That's great and all but there's just one problem." walking up to his companion, Ragna looked her dead in the eyes. "I thought, only members of the Knight Squadron could participate in this kind of shit. Last time I checked, I wasn't exactly associated with you guys."

"Sure didn't stop you when the Old Empire showed up." nudging him in the ribs, Lisesharte gave Ragna a teasing smile.

"The circumstances were completely different." with a scowl, Ragna took a quick step back to get out of the girl's range.

"Anyway, I already approved of you joining so it should be fine." Lisesharte said with a slight pout.

Burying his face in his hands, Ragna gave a loud discontented sigh.

"That's not the issue, dammit..." crossing his arms, Ragna leaned against the side of the warehouse as he realized arguing was useless up to this point. "Could you just change it back to normal please?"

"Alright fine." walking over to one of the many workbenches strewn about the area, Lisesharte picked up a large box of various tools and began to work on reverting the machine back to its normal state. Seeing that his business was finished, Ragna walked out of the warehouse.

"Hey Lisha." giving a shout before leaving, Ragna glanced over his shoulder. "Seriously though, thanks. I owe you one."

Turning his back, Ragna couldn't see the small smile forming on the princess' lips.

* * *

Later that evening, the entire Knight Squadron as well as a few upper-classmen gathered beneath the academy. The room was lit by a few wax candles to provide optimal visibility. The rooms' wall were stone and was complete with a wooden floor. Gathered around the wooden table at the center of the room with the headmaster at the front, everyone stood at attention as they waited for the meeting to begin.

"I believe that we're all here." Relie said, addressing the students. "Tom-"

Swiftly interrupted by the sound of a door being flung open, Ragna and Krulcifer casually strode through the doorway. Ragna seemed to be particularly irked, more than usual. Meanwhile, Krulcifer's expression was much more focused but was seemingly hiding a smirk.

"Or not…" the headmaster noted in a small voice. "Would you mind telling us why you two were late?"

"First of all." Ragna snorted as he folded his arms and took a position towards the front of the table. "I didn't even know that I was going to be part of this stupid thing until a few hours ago."

"Good grief." Relie rested her forehead in her palm as she comprehended the ill-mannered teens' words.

"Second of all, no one told me there was a damn strategy meeting." Ragna continued as more and more students gave him skeptical and disappointed looks in equal measure. "Not much I can do for something I didn't know was happening."

"This is an operation that requires careful planning in order to come out with minimal casualties." a familiar face, Shalice, said flatly. "Did you really intend to go in sword swinging and hope for the best?"

 _That's the usual plan. Why change it up now?_

"Pay him no mind." the silver haired girl said as she stood in a far corner of the room. "Ragna's just a bit angry because I woke him from his nap right before this."

"Is this true?" raising an eyebrow, Relie glanced at the Reaper who gave a nervous smile.

"Regardless." shooting him a smirk to which Ragna rolled his eyes to, Krulcifer cleared her throat. "I would like to apologize for the delay on both of our behalves. Please continue on."

"Of course." readdressing the crowd of students before her, Relie pulled out a small wooden box and set it on the table. Gently placing her hands at the sides of the box, she lifted the top and revealed a small horn-like object. Ragna gave a small grimace as a strange tingling sensation came from his right arm.

"Is that-?!" from beside him, Lisesharte glared at the object. "That's the horn that Velvet was using to attract the Abyss when the Old Empire attacked. Why do we have it?!"

"It was retrieved by a recovery team after the fight." Relie said, growing increasingly annoyed at the constant interruptions. "We will use the whistle to draw out the Abyss guarding the Ruins, take it out and proceed into the Ruins."

A storm of whispers came from the students as they they quietly voiced their concerns. Ragna glanced over towards the princess who had a worried expression.

"Hey Lisha." Ragna whispered causing the girl to turn her head. "You sure this is a good idea? I mean, we're kinda screwing with something we know little to nothing about."

"I agree. As much as I'd like to think that the plan is simple, the more concerned I become, especially concerning that whistle." not taking her eyes off of the horn. "But I am going to trust the principal on this one but if we're all going to make out in one piece, we have to follow order. That includes you too, Ragna."

"Yeah, yeah." snorting in annoyance, Ragna returned his attention to Relie.

"Once we engage the Abyss, everyone is expected to stay in formation." casting a quick glare towards Ragna, she continued with the plan. "Formation will be as follows: wyverns and drakes toward the front while the wyrms stay back. Vanguard will include everyone with close range weapons and is tasked with wearing the Abyss down. The long-range specialists will provide covering cover for the front-line if things get too close for comfort. Work on gradually tiring the enemy and strike once it is most vulnerable. Understood?"

"Ma'am!"

"Once we have successfully defeated the Abyss, this should trigger a portal that will take us to the heart of the Ruins. Due to the small window of time that it is open, we will send two small squads of three through. The rest, the subjugation team, will guard the entrance to ensure that no outsiders interfere with the operation." gazing at the the crowd, the headmaster made eye contact with certain individuals. "There will be two teams of three assigned to investigating inside the ruins. The first team will consist of Lisesharte, Krulcifer and Tilfurr. Team two will consist of Shalice, Nokuto and Saniya."

"Wait a minute." a surprisingly calm Ragna interrupted, yet again. "What about inside the Ruins? Isn't there some sort of failsafe once the Abyss guarding the outside is down? Maybe like a second, stronger Abyss on the inside?"

"You obviously know little about the Ruins." a familiar face said from the far side of the room, the same one who wholeheartedly opposed his initiation into the Knight Squadron. Her maroon eyes were staring holes into Ragna as they regarded him with nothing but pure disgust.

"Besides," Lisesharte put a hand on his shoulder as she gave him a reassuring smile. "We can fight our own battles too, you know."

As much as he wanted to argue, she was right. Ragna let out a sigh knowing that he would have to take a back seat this time around but it didn't sit well with him. Despite this, he had already assumed something like this would happen due to the lack of trust, especially in terms of combat, the headmaster seemed to show him. Choosing to remain silent, the boy gave a sour expression but continued to listen.

"The teams inside the Ruins will have two hours at most to collect intelligence. Once the two hours are up, we will rendezvous on the opposite side of Ruins. Investigation team, be sure to have drills on hand just in case."

With a nod from the members of the investigation team, Relie finished the meeting by going further in-depth about the jobs that were given to the group stationed outside the Ruins. Unfortunately, Ragna found himself dozing off on his feet. Before he knew it, the students began filing out of the room. The sole reason he wasn't left behind to sleep in the meeting room was due to Krulcifer giving him a gentle flick on the forehead. The boy made a loud grunting noise as his head recoiled backwards, his eyes flying open.

"Maybe next time you should pay more attention during the meeting." she said as she stifled a giggle. "You could miss something important."

"And maybe next time someone shouldn't wake me up in the middle of a goddamn nap beforehand." yawning to himself, Ragna pulled himself up and stretched.

With only him and Krulcifer left in the room, the two exited the room and walked back to the dorms to rest for the busy day ahead of them.

Needless to say, Ragna was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

* * *

Small rays of sunlight broke through the horizon, punctuating the retreating night sky. Turning his head, Ragna glanced out the window and gave a slight sigh. He stood in his unlit room dressed in his combat attire.

The boy had been up for at least an hour now. Despite the deep slumber he found himself in early during the night, he found his adrenaline at an all time high this morning as he remembered that the duel was scheduled for much later in the day. The Ruins investigation came second to the duel, at least on Ragna's list of priorities.

"I guess I should start heading over." taking a few more minutes to stretch, he made his way to the door before taking a look back and, strangely enough, smirking. "Once today's over with, it'll feel like a goddamn lifetime has passed."

As he walked through the dorm halls, he could hear some of the girls preparing as well from within their rooms. Passing the mess hall, Ragna saw a fair number of students, all in their respective gear. Shrugging to himself, he entered and took a look around. With the limited time Ragna had before the investigation, he knew that he wouldn't have the luxury of sitting down to have a full meal. Instead, he snatched an apple from one of the carts and made his way out.

With a leisurely pace, Ragna made his way towards the warehouse, the appointed meeting place for the mission. As he made his way towards the front of the school he saw Krulcifer, back towards him, staring off into the horizon. As he came closer, she turned her head and smiled at him. Giving Krulcifer a small nod in return and before long, she fell into step with him. The only noises that could be heard throughout the morning were the owls letting out their final songs before the day came and the occasional chewing from Ragna as he periodically bit into his apple ever now and again. Still, Ragna couldn't seem to keep his mind off of a very specific detail since he had seen Krulcifer earlier. If he were to blink at the wrong moment, he would've missed it but yet only managed to catch a glimpse of her face before she forced the smile. Krulcifer seemed to be brooding over something, as if she was almost fearful.

Within due time, the duo arrived at the warehouse. Unsuprisingly, a large portion of the Knight Squadron had beaten them to their location. As a result, multiple groups were scattered throughout the area, diving deep into converstaions about tactics and strategies as they prepared for the investigation. From the corner of his eye, Ragna saw Lisesharte waving over to him with one hand and his Sword Device held in the other.

"Good morning you two." Lisesharte greeted them. It could've been his imagination but Ragna could've sworn he heard an underlying tone of bitterness but he dismissed it.

"Same to you Lisha." despite the greeting being aimed towards her, Ragna's focus was in the Sword Device in her hand. Taking notice this, Lisesharte puffed her cheeks out in a pout and handed him the blade. Quickly unsheathing it, Ragna stepped back and swung the sword.

 _Perfect._

"Thanks Lisha, I owe you one big time." satisfied with the results, Ragna smiled towards the princess and sheathed the blade.

The three made their way towards the larger group positioned in front of the warehouse. Standing in front of them was an older woman, one of the instructors, wearing a headset. By the woman's appearance, Ragna guessed that she was in charge of making sure that investigation went well. Before long, the rest of the Knight Squadron showed up and the final briefing began. Of course, Ragna didn't pay attention to any of it as he had the ' _I don't need to listen to the shit I've already heard before'_ mentality through the entirety of the briefing. It was only towards the end where his interest peaked, for better or worse.

"With the briefing out of the way, I am pleased to announce that one more person will be participating in the investigation." many heads turned as a man made his way to the front of the group. "Please allow me to introduce you all to Lord Balzeride Kreutzer of the Four Noble Houses."

Ragna's expression went from one of tedium to a feral snarl almost instantaneously as the blonde haired noble gave a bow. He could tell that neither Lisesharte or Krulcifer were too thrilled at the news either. Ragna was about to say something in terms of rejecting Balzeride's help but instead Lisesharte stepped in.

"Instructor!" yelling above the crowd Lisesharte made her way towards the front. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"P-please call down Lisesharte." the instructor's voice was timid in the wake of the girl's fury. "Being a member of the Four Noble houses means that he has strong ties with the military. For someone like him to join, especially on such short notice, is invaluable."

"Fear not Your Highness." Balzeride said as he face her. "I've no intentions to interfere nor contribute my two cents. My purpose is to serve as a shield for these delicate, young maidens."

"Can it, sleazebag!" standing by Lisesharte's side, Ragna glared at the nobleman with teeth bared.

"It seems fate has brought us together once more boy." with a calm tone, Balzeride stared down at the boy. "I have already met with the headmaster and was given permission to participate."

"Go home. We don't need your help." Ragna snapped.

"You would decline the help of the 'Conqueror of Kingdoms'?" the instructor asked, her tone was a mixture of anger and confusion.

"So not only are you a perverted piece of shit," narrowing his eyes, Ragna remained focused on Balzeride who didn't seem at all phased by Ragna's jabs, "but you're a pompous ass too.'

"As much as it pains me to say it, the rumors are true." Krulcifer said from behind them. "There are many records of his accomplishments."

"As expected of you my future wife." with a smile, the noble made his way towards her only to be stopped by the intervention of Ragna and Lisesharte who stood between the two of them. In turn, Balzeride frowned. "If anything else, my future wife is participating in this investigation. If anything were to happen to her-"

"That is quite enough." from behind the crowd, Relie approached them. "It is true that I have enlisted Lord Kreutzer's help with this mission. He will assist with the subjugation of the Abyss and nothing more, is that clear?"

"I sure as hell don't like it." Ragna growled. "But whatever, let's get this damn investigation done and over with."

Silently agreeing with Ragna and acknowledging the headmaster's' words, Lisesharte and Krulcifer both gave a small nod. With the conclusion of the briefing, the group walked around the warehouse to a large vacant field. Before Ragna had the chance to follow, Relie put a hand on his shoulder to stop him and whispered in his ear.

"Be careful around Balzeride." she warned as Relie handed Ragna a small box that contained the flute. "I am also entrusting you with the flute. I was informed by Lisesharte that your Drag-Ride has a connection with the Abyss in some way. As such, it will be your job to draw out the Abyss."

'Got it." quickly taking the box from the headmaster and ran off to join the others around back. As he arrived, some of the members had already mounted their Drag-Rides including Balzeride who stood away from the group.

Even at first glance, Ragna could tell where Balzeride got his moniker as the Conqueror of Kingdoms. Despite obviously being a Divine Drag-Ride, it was unlike the others he had encountered as Balzerde's Drag-Ride was a ground-based wyrm variant. Instead of a slim frame, this one had a bulky, heavy-set, dark brown frame. At the heels of the machine were two wheels that helped compensate for it's lack of aerial mobility. Despite not having the ability to fly, it was still no pushover even at distance as it had two massive shoulder mounted cannons.

Taking careful notes for later, Ragna drew his Sword Device and activated Orochi. Upon seeing his Drag-Ride's arms back to normal, Ragna let out a sigh of relief. As he waited for the remaining members who didn't have their own personal machines, who were retrieving general purpose variants from inside the warehouse, Ragna planted his oversized Blood-Scythe into the soft dirt.

"My, my." striding, or rolling, rather, up to Ragna, Balzeride stared at Ragna's drag-Ride in disbelief. "Who would've guessed that YOU out of all people would have ended up being the infamous Grim Reaper."

"Out of all people?" Ragna growled, his volume rising with his temper. "The hell's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing in particular. But I do say, the mud-splattered reputation of the Grim Reaper suits your personality quite well. But your third-rate machine is no match for my Azi Dahaka." the noble shot Ragna a savage grin.

"Azi Dahaka, huh?" Ragna snorted. "From what I remember, glorified or not, it's just plain stupid to give a trash can a name."

"Now that everyone has their machines equipped, we are ready to move out!" Lisesharte shouted, interrupting the two before things could escalate. Turning his attention back towards Balzeride, he had found that the nobleman had distanced himself from Ragna but still continued to give him a vicious smirk.

 _Just a few more hours… just a few more hours…_

* * *

Despite his initial impressions of the wyrm variants not being able to keep up with the aerial-based Drag-Rides, Ragna couldn't have been any more wrong. Below him, a handful of the grounded machines kept perfect pace with Balzeride leading them.

"This your first time seeing the Ruins, right?" a voice came from beside a rather mentally preoccupied Ragna.

"Uh- yeah. It is." pulling himself back to the present, Ragna shook off his dazed state and turned to the person talking to him. To his surprise and much to his irritation, it was actually Tillfur.

"Haven't really been outside me home country so this'll be my first.' Ragna said. The girl gave a smirk returned her attention forward. As Ragna did the same, he felt his breath catch. Before the group was a massive rectangular prism, larger than any other structure he had ever seen in his entire life, made of pure stone floating before them.

"Just what the hell is that thing…?" Ragna said quietly as he stared in amazement.

In front of them, a number of the Drag-Knights ahead of them began to descend and land on the ground. Following their example, Ragna met them as the remainder of the group met up with them. With a short command from the headmaster over the comms, the group assembled into their planned formation. Ragna himself was placed towards the front due to his possession of a higher-classed machine and his combat prowess.

"Ragna." Relie said over a private channel. "Do it."

Despite the headmaster not being present, the boy gave nod and pulled the horn. Multiple students turned their heads and froze in fear.

"It's fine." Ragna sighed. "This isn't a damn sabotage. Just make sure you guys re ready when this thing comes out."

With reluctant nods from the students, Ragna steeled himself as he blew into the whistle. An all too familiar high pitched hum filled the air only to be followed by a deep, bellowing roar not even mere seconds later. The roar alone was enough to send chills down the Reaper's spine.

"Everyone get ready!" Shalice yelled. "Something's coming!"

(cue Blazblue CPEX OST - Silent Scream)

Ragna could feel a spike in energy from his Drag-Ride in response. Readying his blade, a winged silhouette could be seen flying high above the Ruins. Turning what Ragna could make out as the creature's head towards the group, it let out another deafening roar and barreled towards the group.

The backline open fired on the creature. Despite it's larger size, the creature was able to weave through the shots and head straight towards the vanguard. Readying his blade, Ragna sent dark energy from his machine into his blade as the Abyss came closer and closer at a rapid rate. The moment never came as it crushed the group's defenses and headed straight for one of the wyrm users, Nokuto. They attempted to swing at the beast with their broad sword but against the Abyss' hide, it shattered. As if almost cackling, the monster raised a massive clawed fist, it prepared to decimate the student. The sound of armor colliding with metal echoed throughout the battlefield but it wasn't with a Drag-Ride, rather with a large sheet of metal.

In the moment Ragna looked at the Abyss, identifying it as a Diablos from the textbooks that he had read, an Abyss capable of leveling a city on their own, by it's feature. Despite being a medium sized Abyss, it was at least twice as big as Ragna's Drag-Ride. It had a much more muscular body than the gargoyles and more defined wings that were bat-like in appearance. It had an angled head with a series of three long, winding horns protruding from the back of its skull on both sides and large canine lining it's mouth. A long forked tail completed the creature's appearance and namesake.

"Why the hell did you break formation?!" Liseaharte yelled at him over the comms. "Are you trying to compromise this mission?!"

"Yeah, yeah." Ragna growled as the did his best to hold off the Abyss. "Instead of complaining about some damn formation, how about a little help? I'm sorta stuck between a rock and a hard place. The rock being brutal mutilation and the hard place being a painful death to top it all off I won't be able to hold off this bastard for much longer!"

The underlying panic in Ragna's voice began to surface as the stench of sulfur began to fill the air in front of him. Plumes of smoke and a bright glow began to come from the Diablos' maw. Suddenly a blast of blue energy slammed into the back of the Abyss, interrupting its attack. From over the creature's shoulder, he could see Krulcifer closing in on them. However, as she got closer and closer Ragna could make out the word 'run' however it was already too late once he understood the warning.

" _Devil's Glow."_

Two spiral beams of red energy tore across the battlefield from an obscene distance away. Ragna noticed a moment too late as the beams collided with him and the Abyss. The impact created a large explosion that engulfed not only him and the Abyss but the other student as well. A massive shockwave could be felt as it travelled along the battlefield. Lisesharte scanned the freshly made crater littered by debris, smoke and flames as she frantically called her friends' names.

Movement came from the smoke but it wasn't a Drag-Ride. Instead, the lightly wounded Diablos flew skywards and let out a victorious roar. The princess put a hand over mouth. There was no sign of Nokuto, Ragna or Krulcifer and yet the Abyss was still alive. Slowly, fear became fury as Lisesharte summoned Seventh Heads and began to charge the massive weapon.

"Bastard!" she screamed with her tears nearly blinding her.

As soon as her finger went for the trigger however, a blue burst of energy came from the smoke and struck the Abyss' leg at the knee joint. Upon contact, the limb hit absolute zero as ice crystals formed on the wound and froze it's leg. The creature didn't even have time to screech in pain as a red blur slammed into it, severing the leg. As the smoke settled from within the crater, Krulcifer could be seen with Fafnir's scale-like projections protecting her and Nokuto. All the while Ragna, now silver-haired and red-eyed, was able to force the Abyss into a temporary retreat thanks to Blood-Scythe in its scythe form. Taking the chance, they all regrouped.

"Impressive coordination." Balzeride said, giving a small and sarcastic clap. "I see that my future wife's reputation is more than just rumors I see. And as for you Grim Reaper, I was almost doubting your ability but the true scope of your power is as impressive as it is terrifying!"

"Shut it asshole." Ragna snarled at the grinning noble. "You knew damn well where you were aiming and you fired anyways. What the hell for?!"

"I was simply doing what I had to." Balzeride said dismissively. "The enemy was vulnerable and I took advantage of it. And let us not forget, no victory is without sacrifice."

Ragna could feel his temper coming to a boiling point. He truthfully questioned whether or not he'd be able to make it until later that day to punch Balzeride. Taking a deep breath, Ragna was able to calm himself down, at least for the time being.

"I am quite curious to see the full of your strength Ragna." the boy recoiled at the nobleman's use of his name. "Let's make a deal then. If you can defeat the Abyss before us before I can, I will give up my engagement to Krulcifer."

Ragna's eyes went wide and adrenaline filled his veins. His heart began pounding much faster than usual and the grip on his blade tightened. He could feel his body shift into a position as a ravenous, shadowy aura began to engulf his blade.

"This isn't a game Lord Kreutzer!" Lisesharte scowled as she noticed Ragna's rather intense expression. "The same goes for you too Ragna!"

"Indeed. Cease this petty quarrel, both of you." Krulcifer warned. Ragna, coming back to his senses, backed down against his rather faulty judgement. "Considering Ragna's hasty nature, he probably would've followed through with it."

"How cold, my future wife." Balzeride placed his Drag-Ride's hand on Fafnir's shoulder. Ragna wasn't sure if he was imagining things again but he could've sworn he saw some sort of energy transfer between the machines.

"However if you insist, I will be the one to defeat the Abyss before the both of you." Krulcifer quickly slapped away the hand as she glared at the noble and returned her focus on the Abyss. "Then there will be no problem, correct?"

Without another word, the girl took skywards and chased the Diablos with Ragna doing the same in an attempt to stop her. Lisesharte was going to recommend regrouping but a reckless charge straight towards the enemy had soundly ended that suggestion.

"Oi!" Ragna yelled over the comms to Krulcifer as he followed a few yards back. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm fine!" she yelled back, her voice was unexpectedly shrill. "There isn't much time!"

With the wounded Diablos noticing the two challengers, it let out another roar and flew to meet them. From a distance, Ragna disinctively had a bad feeling about the situation.

 _Why the hell is Krulcifer so frantic? It doesn't matter, she isn't thinking straight right now. This is just like when I was facing Terumi at the top of the Kagutsuchi branch! Her judgement's clouded and she's gonna end up paying for it!_

Readying her rifle, Krulcifer eyed the beast's chest right where it's core would be. With the distance closig between her and the Abyss, Krulcifer took aim with her rifle.

"Wise Blood!" she shouted as she placed her finger on the trigger.

But nothing happened.

Time didn't slow. The Abyss' movement's weren't predicted. In fact, her Divine Raiment failed to activate all together. By the time it took her to react, the Diablos was already on top of her. With a massive clawed fist, the creature sent forward a punch powerful enough to shatter stone.

"Barrier!"

A blur of red shot out in front of her and took the full force of the blow with a dome-like energy shield. Any normal Abyss wouldn't have done much to the barrier but the sheer power of the Diablos not only shattered the barrier but sent the two crashing straight down.

"That bastard took out most of my barrier in one blow?" Ragna muttered as recovered from the blow. Multiple danger screens flashed in front of him as his barrier gauge read ten percent. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Krulcifer lying behind him. "Hey! Krulcifer! Are you alright?!"

In front of him, Ragna felt a powerful gust of wind. He could only catch a glimpse of what it was but a titanic beast had a clawed hand balled into a fist, mere feet in front of him. In a vain effort, Ragna attempted to draw his blade but he already knew he was far too late.

Right before the blow connected however, a large halberd slammed into the Diablos' arm and severed it. From far away, Ragna saw Balzeride wearing a victorious smile with his Drag-Ride's arm held outwards.

"This match is my victory, no?" he smirked.

 _There's no way in hell that he was able to throw that big ass thing with that amount of precision. No, he wouldn't have been able to see through that big-ass cloud of dust regardless of how precise he was. Furthermore, what the hell happened with Krulcifer and Fafnir? Why did they just stop moving?!_

"Don't relax just yet!" Lisesharte yelled as the Diablos began to move again. However instead of flying up as usual, it sat upright and began to glow as it's body started to rapidly bloat.

 _It's gonna explode. Of course it's gonna explode._

From behind him, Krulcifer began to stir. As opposed to her usual calm demeanor, she seemed bewildered and panicked almost like a cornered animal. Fafnir wasn't in the best condition either as it was heavily damaged, shaking uncontrollably and it's lights were flashing.

 _And now Fafnir's going berserk! Just what we needed..._

"Why…?" she muttered to herself frantically. "Wise Blood, the Dragonscale shield… why won't it work? My Fafnir…!"

"Get it together, dammit!" Ragna shouted as he grabbed her shoulders. Krulcifer seemed to have calmed down but not a second later, the Abyss detonated. With no other alternatives, Ragna jumped in front of the girl and activated the remainder of his barrier, hoping that it would at least protect her as his vision went completely white.

(end theme)

* * *

Seemingly waking up, Ragna's eyes flew open and inspected the surrounding area only for his stomach to drop almost immediately. Of all places, he had ended up _here_ again. The sound of paced footsteps and slow clapping came from behind him as Ragna jerked his head towards the direction of the noise.

"Very good." an all too familiar fedora wearing man said with a sly grin. "Sacrificing yourself for a lady? You must get a kick out of playing hero don't you?"

"Bastard!" growling, Ragna glared at Hazama as he got closer. "Why the ell are you here again of sonuvabitch?!"

"My!" Hazama mocked, his grin broadening as he opened one glowing, snake-like eye. "That's no way to talk to an old friend now is it?'

"Old? Hardly. And friend? Not a chance in Hell!" shouting towards the gentleman, Ragna debated whether or not to blow off steam right then and there especially after recent events. "And don't you even think that I forgot what you did to the Rabbit!"

"Still holding old grudges are we? Why not bury the hatchet?" Hazama suggested, albeit sarcastically as he shrugged. "Besides, you seem to be all buddy-buddy with those wretches you call classmates."

"Wretches? God, who pissed in your cereal?" still very much agitated, Ragna let out a sigh.

 _This isn't the time to be going off. I need answers._

"Hey, Hazama." Ragna said. "You still haven't explained to me what the hell has happened. As much as I hate to admit it, you're the only person who can help me comprehend what the hell is going on."

Hazama remained silent for a few moments, carefully brushing off his favorite suit, before he registered Ragna's words.

"Aww, does little Raggy need me to hold his hand? Oh wait!" giving a low chuckle to himself as he noticed sour expression, Hazama's tone became much more stern. "You've pretty much figured out the stuff you wanted to know. Why ask me?"

"Alright then at least confirm a few things for me." Ragna's expression softened but not was still tense. "The Azure Grimoire, it has a connection to the Abyss right? I thought seithr only existed in our world."

"Ah yes. I've been quite curious on that myself." Hazama said. "With the Boundary connecting all different types of worlds and possibilities and so on. I believe those feral beasts, the Abyss as you call them, have absorbed a certain amount of seithr, even if a small amount."

Strangely out of character, Ragna remained silent and continued listening to the man's explanation.

"And that little doohickey-"

"Sword Device." Ragna corrected with slight irritation.

"Yes, yes that." Hazama said dismissively. Had his eyes been open, Hazama would've rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Yours is a special case. That Sword Device has become the Azure Grimoire. In the presence of Abyss, the Azure will grow increasingly more active. And depending on the number or strength of them, your machine's power will grow exponentially. Even more so when they have been defeated. Even more, there are different levels that are still locked at the moment. In short, the more Abyss you defeat, the stronger you'll become. It's like a video game!"

"Uh-huh." Ragna said slowly, slightly off-put by the shady man's enthusiasm. "So then what? I know this thing has a limit. What happens if I'm not careful?"

"Two words." Hazama replied, holding up two fingers. "Black. Beast."

"Damn… way to just kill the mood." Ragna's mood dampened significantly. He had a sinking suspicion that was the answer but hearing out loud made him shudder.

"Hey, you were the one who asked." Hazama sneered. "Don't ask if the truth is gonna make you piss yourself."

"Yeah, whatever." groaning to himself, Ragna could feel his body growing lighter. "Heh, looks like I actually got what I needed this time."

"Good for you. But take it easy out there will you?" with an irritated tone, Hazama turned his back to the boy and began to walk in the opposite direction as he slowly began to fade. "I can't keep having these little chats just because you decided to take a dirt nap."

"Like hell that's my fault." Ragna growled as Hazama disappeared. "I guess I should wake up soon. God knows how much time has actually passed."

* * *

A dull light filled Ragna's field of view as his eyes slowly opened. Very much alive, the boy felt himself not resting on dirt or stone rather soft grass. Atop of a hill, Ragna found himself staring upwards at a cloudy, grey. An alien scent wafted through the area, one of muskiness stung his nostrils. The surrounding area was grassy but was caged in by massive stone walls.

"Sleep well?" a voice came from beside him, startling him slightly.

"No thanks to you." Ragna groaned as he turned his head to see Krulcifer eyeing him curiously. "You alright?"

"I'm fine." the girl said with slight guilt as she turned her head. "I have you to thank after all."

"You're better off not thinking about it." smirking a bit after seeing her reaction, Ragna sat up. "Where the hell are we anyways?"

"We're inside the Ruins, of course." Krulcifer's immediate answer made his jaw drop. Running through the possibilities in his head, Ragna couldn't think of any other alternative at least within reason. "And it's only us in here."

"Well that sucks." muttering to himself, Ragna silently wondered how the girl was able to come to the conclusion so quickly. "Anyway, have you contacted anyone yet?"

"Unfortunately, we're in the dead center of the Ruins. If I were to guess, we were sucked in following Abyss' explosion and no one was able to follow us due to the chaos." Krulcifer informed with a shake of her head. Holding out her arm, she pointed towards one of the ends of the Ruins. "In our current position, we won't be able to contact anyone. We'll need to head towards the edge of the Ruins if we want a chance to communicate with anyone on the outside."

"Tch. What a drag." Ragna took another look around for leads. Given the secluded nature of the area, there were no paths to follow. "Well, ready to go hiking?"

Krulcifer's expression was grim but still managed to give a small smile at the remark as she stood up. Ragna too got to his feet but dropped to one knee as a sharp pain stabbed at his leg.

"Shit…" Ragna grunted to himself as he glared at his injured leg. A hand extended downward as the boy looked up to see Krulcifer smiling at him. "Sorry about this."

Helping him up to his feet, Krulcifer put his arm around her shoulder to give him support, an awkward maneuver considering that Krulcifer was taller than him by a few inches in his current state. Nonetheless, the girl didn't seem to mind much.

"It's fine." she said as the both of them trudged forward. Even with Ragna slowing them down, much to his annoyance, he could tell that Krulcifer was anxious as she seemed to be in a hurry. "This is the least I could do after you protected me from the Diablos."

"Hey, I told you not to think on it alright?" Ragna said as he struggled to keep up. His partner however didn't seem to notice however. "And about that Abyss."

"What about it?" still moving forward, Krulcifer raised an eyebrow as she glanced at Ragna.

"Those things have been known to wipe out towns right?" giving a quick nod in response, Krulcifer continued to listen as they went. "Is that reputation from them actually being able to do that or do they just get their asses kicked and end up leveling towns with the ensuing explosion?"

Krulcifer gave no response for a few moments, only a blank stare. It wasn't before long that she began to laugh, Ragna joining her as well as they marvelled at the "brilliance" of Ragna's question.

"I guess we'll never know for certain." Krulcifer said, still smiling. The two had made their way further inside of the Ruins but had made their way underground inside of a tunnel of sorts. Ragna felt that there was something off but decided to stay silent as he figured that his partner had much more experience. "While we're on the topic, tonight-"

"I know." Ragna said. "I was hoping to have the Blazblue as a last resort but looks like the cat's out of the bag this time around. We'll probably just have to brute force our way out of this one."

"Typical Ragna fashion, huh?" Krulcifer smirked as Ragna himself rolled his eyes at the jab.

The further they walked, the further Ragna felt they were straying from their objective. Even still, Ragna remain silent against his better instincts. Both of them remained silent as they continued walking. Thanks to the Azure Grimoire's healing factor, Ragna was able to walk on his own after a short while. The only sound that could be heard as the two walked was the sound of steady yet unsynced breathing and light footsteps against the hard ground.

Eventually, the tunnel had widened allowed both of them some room to move without being shoulder to shoulder. Stone surrounded them on both side in the dimly lit hall. Vines that lead from the ceiling lined the walls and touched the floor. Upon arriving at the end of the tunnel, Ragna and Krulcifer were greeted with a spacy, stone room decorated with the ever-present vegetation hanging from the ceiling and dim light. In contrast to the various tunnels rgna had seen earlier, this room seemed much more ancient. Cracks and crevices aligned the walls. Sitting in the middle of the room was a stone altar surrounded by eight stone pillars, raised by a small flight of stone steps. A strange blue light emitted from the altar upon their approach, much to Ragna's curiosity.

Without warning, Krulcifer walked towards the center of the room. Strangely enough, the blue light that the altar gave off began to intensify upon her approach. With shaky hands, the girl reached out out a gently touched the surface of the altar. The room gave a sudden rumble as the altar began to glow.

" _Existence of the "Key" confirmed. Executing special unlock."_

"What the-?!" Ragna's tone become increasingly distressed as he noticed that pieces of the roof were beginning to fall. "Key? The hell is going on?!"

"So it's true, I'm not a being of this world." Krulcifer said as she turned and gave Ragna a sad smile. "I'm a survivor of the Ruins."

A gate appeared on front of the girl as she stared at the altar. Initially giving off a blinding white light, the light dispersed and revealed a large doorway that led to a large circular a walkway of pure blue energy leading where only Ragna could imagine. As if on instinct, the girl took a step forward through the doorway. At the same moment however, a large chunk of the ceiling came crashing down on top of her.

"Move!"

Turning around in shock, Krulcifer barely had time to react as Ragna tackled her. A large chunk of stone fell where she had been not a moment ago. All around them, dust and small bits of stone fell as the chamber's shaking grew more violent.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do." Ragna panted. "But first, we're getting the hell out of here!"

Springing to his feet, he grabbed her hand and ran through the portal. Luckily for them, the two got through just a massive portion of the stone ceiling came down right in front of the doorway. Ragna muttered a few choice words upon realizing that their way out was blocked but Krulcifer on the other hand was crouching at the edge of the walkway, focused on the walls of the tunnel. Ragna's anger peaked at the girl's disregard to the but soon realized that the walls of the tunnel weren't stine stone but were actually lined with metal pods.

"I was told that I was discovered as a child in a box like this long ago." Krulcifer broke the silence but her attention was still focused on the pods. "At the same time my adopted father was surveying the Ruins of the religious country of Ymir, he found me and picked me up from the Ruins..."

"Hey, slow down for a damn second." Ragna growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose, attempting to comprehend the girl's words. "What the hell are you going on about?"

"Back then, I was used as a link to a lost past." she continued seemingly ignoring Ragna's question, much to his annoyance. "I, who had no memory of the past whatsoever, unknowingly spending my time with the Einfolk Family but it wasn't long before I realized I was adopted."

Krulcifer's head turned and stared at Ragna as she spoke. Her expression wasn't playful or mischievous but rather earnest and grim.

"My parents, my siblings, the servants… they all kept their distance from me. My siblings would always play together but for some reason, I could never join them. So I put forth great effort into studying, etiquette, being a Drag-Knight…"

"Wait." Ragna interjected. "You spent time studying etiquette?"

The joke didn't play off as well as Ragna hoped as the girl's somber expression only seemed to grow worse.

 _Smooth dickhead, real smooth. Just keep your damn mouth shut for now._

"I tried so hard, no matter how painful it was, I bore through it all-" small tears began to form on the brim of Krulcifer's eyes as she choked on her words but she still forced herself to smile. "I bore through it all so that they might come to like me. So that one day they might recognize me as family."

"Once I received Fafnir, I hoped that they would finally acknowledge me but I could hear them. They whispered how I really wasn't like them." wiping away the tears, Krulcifer still remained fixated on Ragna. "In the end, the more I tried, the further I strayed from them."

"So is this why you were pushing yourself lately." Ragna's tone was surprisingly cold. "Is this really what you wanted?"

"Yes. I've always been curious and I've always had the sinking suspicion that I wasn't like everyone else." Krulcifer got up and walked over to the boulder blocking their path and sat down in front of it, her back leaning against the massive stone. "I would think to myself that maybe that this was all mistake and that i might just be a normal Einfolk girl after all. But, after seeing the reaction from the Ruin, I finally understand that I'm really am a survivor of the Ruins."

"When I told you that I hated nobility, I wanted to learn the truth…" Krulcifer's voice trailed off as she pressed her knees against her chest and wrapped her arms around them. The girl began to tremble as she continued. "In the end, I was afraid of knowing that I was different."

"Is that it?" Ragna asked in a cold tone, much to the girl's surprise. "You're not human? So what?"

"But I-"

"But nothing!" Ragna shouted. "I know a few people who are similar to you. They were created in a lab but at the end of the day, they were capable of laughing, crying and loving those around them."

Krulcifer went wide-eyed at the aggression in Ragna's voice.

"Look, I'm gonna say this in the most watered-down way I can." Ragna's volume went down significantly as he walked over and knelt down in front of Krulcifer, looking her directly in the eyes. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that 'human' is just some bullshit term. What you are doesn't make you a person, your feelings and experiences do."

Krulcifer stared at the boy in awe for a few moments before beginning to chuckle which turned to full-on laughter, much to Ragna's confusion.

"Ragna. Allow me to give you some advice for the future." giving him an honest smile, Krulcifer could feel her face growing warm. "You shouldn't pay too much attention to a woman's ramblings."

"The hell?!" Ragna's volume rose once again as he darted back. "You're telling me that was all bullshit?!"

"Of course not." Krulcifer said, still laughing. "I just find it interesting how you seem completely unapproachable upon first glance but underneath your gruff exterior, you're actually really nice.'

'Geez." Ragna let out a sigh as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Don't say it too loud, dammit."

Ragna to began to chuckle, joining Krulcifer in her laughter. He began to wonder at what point did the infamous Grim Reaper and former SS-class criminal grow so soft.

"You know how I said I'd shape you into the man I wanted you to be?" Krulcifer said as she wiped a small tear from her eye before smiling towards him. "I've changed my mind. I think I like you the way are now."

"Well that's a first." Ragna said before the realization finally hit him. "Shit! You were serious about that?!"

Krulcfier gave him a quick nod as Raga shook his head in disbelief.

"You did a real bang-up job with that ya know." Ragna jeered as he gave a smirk.

"About as good as you relationship skills I'd say." Krulcifer snapped in a whimsical manner. She giggled as she saw Ragna's smirk go almost immediately to a sour frown as his own mirth died on him.

"Touche." Ragna said as he crossed his arms, leaning against the boulder as well. "Dammit, where the hell is everyone? It's been at least four hou- Shit!"

Ragna and Krulcifer jumped back as the boulder behind them shattered, revealing Lisesharte and a handful of members from the Knight Squadron. Lisesharte herself was in her Drag-Ride, complete with a large spiral appendage attached to its left arm.

"Finally found you guys!" Tlifur cried happily as she dismounted and ran up to the pair with Lisesharte following.

"Looks like you guys are okay. That's good." the princess' relieved smile turned into a snicker as she glanced at Ragna. "So about that drill."

"Shove it!"

What ensued was a one sided argument between the two for what seemed like hours. It wasn't long before everyone else joined in, much to Ragna's dismay. Despite the lively reunion, Krulcifer stayed away from the group and observed with a smirk.

 _Thank you Ragna… I can take it from here._

* * *

"Thank freaking god!" throwing himself backwards onto his bed, Ragna let out a long sigh.

It took roughly two hours to get out of Ruins but compared to what he'd already went through today, Ragna didn't mind. After meeting up with the rest of the Knight Squadron, Ragna was given an earful by Lisesharte as well as Relie over the comms after the entire incident. Interestingly enough, Balzeride had already dismissed himself under the guise of preparing for later. On the way back to the academy, Lisesharte kept asking him if he did anything strange while he and Krulcifer were alone. Half expecting the latter to join in on annoying him, Ragna shot a glance back to the silver haired girl to find that she was hanging towards the back of the group on her lonesome. He would've joined her but he already had his hands full at the given moment. Even still, Ragna was surprised that he was able to remain calm the entire time that the princess was pestering him.

"Can I just have some piece of mind for a few damn minute?" Ragna muttered to himself only for a knock to come from the door. "Guess not..."

Lazily making his way to the front of his room, Ragna let out a lazy yawn before opening the door. Expecting Lisesharte, Krulcifer or even Relie to be at the door, Ragna was surprised to find that it was someone else completely. It wasn't the first time he had seen her however as she was actively involved with the Knight Squadron but it was the first time Ragna had met her, at least personally.

From his knowledge, she was a first-year student. The girl wore the academy's standard uniform and was thin and short body. Her eyes were storm grey and had shoulder length light grey hair. In her hands was a silver tray with a pot that was emitting steam along with a tea bag, a small tea cup and some herbs.

"Um, hi…" Ragna said in a rather awkward yet somewhat friendly manner as he tried to mask his fatigue. "Did you need something from me?"

"Yes." the girl held the tray towards him in a rather timid manner. Ragna took it with one hand, much to his confusion. Before he could ask what or why he'd been given it, the girl was already expecting his questions. "I was told by Mrs. Krulcifer to give it to you. She mentioned something about resting before tonight and how this should help you with your recovery."

"Shit! How did I almost forget?!" the boy's sudden shift in tone startled her but Ragna didn't notice as he had covered his face with his hand in a facepalm manner. "Oh… sorry about. Uh, thanks."

Giving no response, the girl turned and left leaving Ragna alone, who was feeling slightly like an ass at the moment. With a sigh, he shut the door behind him. As he turned, he glanced out the window. The sun was just now setting as a dark violet clashed against vibrant orange. Ragna let out a growl as he realized how many hours had slipped by.

 _Dammit… dinner's probably being served right now. I haven't eaten anything since this morning. But at the same time, I'd much rather fight on an empty stomach than drop dead exhausted tonight._

Without giving the debate another thought, Ragna dropped the herbs and the tea bag into the cup and poured in the boiling water. After waiting a few moments for the liquid to cool down, he downed it in one swig and laid down to rest. Just as any child, Ragna was out cold within seconds.

* * *

A full moon hung high above a grassy plain. Large, jagged stones stood erect at the edge of the vast space, encircling the area. Moonlight bathed the field as a lone girl, dressed in Drag-Knight's combat attire, walked alone. Silver hair blew in the wind as a hand moved to the cavalry sword fastened to her hip. Within minutes she had reached her destination and stopped. Across the field stood a noble and a butler with their hands on their weapons. The three paced their steps and met in the middle of the field. With a nod, the girl acknowledged her opponents before drawing her own blade.

"And where might the Grim Reaper be?" Balzeride asked as he too acknowledged the challenger's presence. "To have this entire duel set up only to flee? Perhaps his title is nothing more than a coward's mask!"

"I sent him back." she retorted as she readied her blade. "I don't intend to drag him any further into this, he's already helped me enough! Even still, I will not permit you to speak ill of him."

"Regardless," Alterize interrupted, "do you still wish to have this duel to be a two-on-one, milady? I would like to remind you that even though I am not in possession of a high-class Drag-Ride, that you should not take me lightly."

Krulcifer gave a small nod and took a few paces back and summoned Fafnir. The pale-eyed man merely snickered as he too drew his sword from its sheath and did the same with his partner following suit.

"This duel begins now!" Alterize declared as she summoned her Drag-Ride, a custom variant, with Balzeride summoning Azi Dahaka. "Only when a machine dragon is destroyed or a surrender is raised will the duel end! Do you accept young miss?"

"Of course. I'm prepared..." Krulcifer responded as she propelled herself backwards and took to the night sky. "I've been prepared!"

(cue BBCF OST - conciliation)

Giving chase to her opponent, Alterize also went skywards, two short swords drawn. Alterize charged Krulcifer but the range was too far. Even as she got close enough for a hit, Fafnir's barriers were able to block the strike, leaving the butler open for a point blank strike from her rifle. Upon the realization, Alterize used the momentum of her strike to move out of the way. As soon she maneuvered, Balzeride followed up with a shot from his shoulder mounted cannons.

" _Wise Blood!_ "

Activating the ability as soon as Alterize's blades struck the barrier, Krulcifer spun upwards and kicked Alterize upwards to thrust herself downwards. Just as predicted, a powerful blast from the noble followed and engulfed the area she stood moments ago. As Krulcifer accelerated towards the ground, she fired a burst from the Freezing Cannon in Balzeride's general direction. Instead of hitting the noble, the projectiles stuck the ground around him and created small spires of ice.

"No good, Krulcifer!" he laughed."You'll never be able to hit me with aim like that!"

Speaking too soon, another volley of shots were fired directly towards the frozen areas of the ground and sent them into the air. The reflection of the bright moonlight off of the crystals was enough to temporarily blind Balzeride as Krulcifer barely managed to dodge as dive-bomb attack from Alterize.

Managing to recover from her attempted attack, Alterize gave chase to her master once more as Krulcifer raced around the field. Keeping an eye on Balzeride, Krulcifer flew low to the ground and headed straight towards him. Out of her peripherals, she could see Alterize attempting to flank.

"I admire your courage!" Balzeride shouted as he prepared to swing his halberd. "But to challenge Azi Dahaka at close range, especially with your Fafnir, is nothing short of foolish!'

"You talk too much in combat." the girl muttered to herself as she approached rapidly. From above her, Krulcifer could hear Alterize closing in on her. " _Wise Blood._ "

Taking advantage of the slowed time and braking mere feet out of range of Balzeride's enormous halberd, Krulcifer planted a mechanical foot into the soft ground as a pivot point to launch herself backwards. As she did, she pointed her cannon at the predicted area that Alterize would land and fired. As time returned to normal speed as Krulcifer accelerated backwards, Balzeride's swing missed as Alterize came crashing down on him. A well-placed shot from the Freezing Cannon bounded the two by ice, even if only for a second. With a roar of frustration, Balzeride heaved his halberd upwards and sent Alterize in the backwards s the ice shattered. Krulcifer would've shouted the butler's name to see if she was alright but she wasn't going to let this opportunity slip by.

As Balzeride was recovering from lifting his rather heavy weapon, he had left himself exposed. Taking quick aim, Krulfifer's shot connected with one of Azi Dahaka's shoulder cannons, effectively destroying it and staggering the noble. On the other hand, Alterize had already recovered and swung with both of her blades. Yet again the attack was blocked by Fafnir's barriers but it was enough to send Krulcifer downwards. Recovering from the blow, she barely had time to notice the maelstrom of energy being sent towards her.

"You've left an opening milady." Alterize said coolly as she swung her blades once more as the barrage from Azi Dahaka connected.

A large explosion resulted as the two attacked but as the dust cleared, they both were intercepted by a dome of energy. Snorting in annoyance, Alterize retreated to Balzeride's side. All the while, Krulcifer glared at the two as the barrier around her deactivated.

"This has been interesting and all," Balzeride growled in irritation, "but I'd prefer we wrap things up soon."

Extending his hand to Alterize's Drag-Ride, a surge of exhaustion forced the butler unconscious and deactivated her Drag-Ride. On the contrary, Balzeride seemed to have have more vigor than he did moments before.

"Alterize!" from across the battlefield, Krulcifer shouted out. Balzeride however dismissed the incident and took a stance.

"You...!" charging in blindly, Krulcifer fired multiple shot but they all missed their mark as Balzeride swiftly dodged. As she got closer, Krulcifer was in the middle of activating _Wise Blood_ once more but her movements were sluggish. Balzeride managed to grab Fafnir's arm and throw her into a slab of stone before walking over.

"Oh, my apologies." Balzeride said with a maniacal grin plastered on his face. "That body of yours will be birthing my child after all. I need to restrain myself a bit."

 _What the… Fafnir's power output is down? It's just like at the Ruins but I can still fight. Move…! Move…!_

"Oh how pitiful." standing over her, the noble gloated. "First the boy who you claimed was your lover runs away and now even you are disappointing me."

"Pitiful you say?" giving a defiant smirk, Krulcifer glared at the noble. "Isn't this going exactly the way you wanted it to?"

The noble was silent as the girl remained locked in her scowl.

"It all seemed too coincidental, all of these events." Krulcifer snarled. "Being attacked by those bandits, especially in an area and time like that with you introducing yourself shortly after? There's no doubt in my mind that you were connected to the incident. Furthermore, you accompanied us to the Ruins to figure out the extent of my abilities, did you not?"

Balzeride began to chuckle to himself but simple chuckling grew to hysterical laughter, that of a madman.

"Impressive!" he shouted with glee. "You've done well to see through me to this extent! Tell me, is this amount of insight natural for those considered keys to the Ruins?!"

"Wha-?!"

"It is as you say." Balzeride said as he gave a shrug. "All of it was planned by me. But, I require resources and technology from the Ruins in order to build power, to stand at the peak of this shitty country. And to that end, you are merely a tool."

"I am…" Krulcifer's voice was weak, fatigue and hysteria were setting in.

"What? You're going to rehash some stupid junk your _boyfriend_ told you?" Balzeride said, giving the girl a sadistic smile. "You cannot change a single part of that reality. Accept it."

"I…" clutching Fafnir's throttle, Krulcifer felt her grip tighten. Without warning, Fafnir shot skywards one more. "I AM NOT A TOOL!"

Krulcifer accelerated towards Balzeride once more in a blind rage, cannon at the ready. Despite the advance, Balzeride seemed unamused if not bored with the fight.

"How dull." Balzeride muttered as both hands gripped his halberd, positioning it behind him as he prepared to swing. " _Wise Blood._ "

Krulcifer's approach was slowed to a crawl. With each passing second, he could see all of the girl's movements. Studying each movement, Balzeride saw that Krulcifer was attempting to juke him out at the last second and fire a point blank shot. The man's bored expression morphed into a psychopathic grin as time reverted to it's normal state.

The remainder of Fafnir's barrier shattered as the halberd came into contact with the machine. Once more, Krulcifer was sent skidding across the field but this time she couldn't retaliate. Fafnir was long past its limit. The match had already been decided.

And she had lost.

"I believe that settles it then." Balzeride grinned as he casually strolled up to Krulcifer. "Let us make arrangements for next Sunday… my wife."

(end theme)

* * *

 _Author's note:_ **Well... that happened.**

 **I first want to apologize on the sheer amount of time (almost a damn month) it took to get this thing out. I've had work, school, writer's block, (you know the drill) but I am glad to say that I know where I want to take this story at least for the next few chapters so updates should be more frequent. Anyways, thanks for the read and the support! Catch you guys next chapter! ^-^**


	7. Fragments of a Broken Promise

_God dammit… is this shit really happening…?_

Winding up in the library of all places, Ragna sat secluded from the few other students who were catching up on their studies. Despite being late into the afternoon, with class being dismissed a while ago, Ragna couldn't find the heart to train. As he glanced up from the book he was reading, Ragna could see three or four others buried deep in their own works. He however was occupied with more personal matters.

It had been four days since the investigation of the Ruins. Ragna awoke the next morning only to find that he had slept through the night and more importantly, he had missed the duel. A small feeling of uneasiness crept over him as he prepared for the day but he quickly dismissed his anxiety as he felt confident in Krulcifer's skills in combat. He kept his confidence in the girl throughout the morning but it wasn't until class started did Ragna begin to have second thoughts.

Ragna's eyes shot towards Krulcifer's desk only to find that she was absent as soon as he walked in, something that he found was very odd. Staving off his curiosity for a later time, he convinced himself that Krulcifer was merely catching up on the sleep after the duel. Class proceeded as normal with Ragna nodding off during the middle of the lecture as usual. As soon as the bell rang for lunch break however, Ragna got up and walked to her dorm room. Upon arriving and knocking a few times without an answer, Ragna began to head back towards the classroom telling himself to check back once class was dismissed for the day. As he walked through the halls, he caught wind of a conversation between the headmaster and one of the students concerning Krulcifer's whereabouts. Sticking to the shadows, Ragna listened in carefully as his suspicions were confirmed. Ragna found out that not only did Krulcifer lose the duel, she also had withdrawn from the school and went back to Ymir to prepare for the wedding.

"God dammit!" subconsciously shouting, Ragna gave an embarrassed wave towards the librarian as he realized yelled in the library.

Nonetheless, his anger and confusion were still present even more so than when he first heard the news. Glancing down at his book, one detailing the history of the Old Empire, Ragna snorted and shoved it away from him as he got up.

 _This isn't helping my damn nerves. Might as well go train just to try and burn off steam._

"Alright, any questions?"

No one answered as the room remained quiet. It was apparent that every single person seated in the room wanted nothing more than to leave. The fact was made even more prominent as Lisesharte let out an unhampered yawn from the back and blew her hair, now down instead of it's usual pigtail, out of her face.

"I... guess that's a 'no'." Shalice said in an underwhelmed tone.

As if on cue, all of the students in the room bolted for the door. What resulted was a mob trying to fit through a door frame made for two mediums sized doors. Had everyone been civil about the matter, each of them could've been well on their way and left to their own devices within less than a minute but due the blockage, the process was much lengthier. Being the last to leave, Lisesharte caught up with some of the members as they made banter in their way out. After reaching the entrance of the facility, she waved farewell to her friends as they went their separate ways for the day.

"Was it really necessary to spend over an hour over something that simple?" she complained to herself as she made her way back to her room. "Oh well, it's still early. I have plenty of time to wrap-up homework, maybe get in some training today as well. I could ask Kru..."

Her voice trailed off as she felt a slight weight added to her heart. Shaking her head, she quickened her pace. It wasn't before long that her mind was drowning in thoughts as her body moved itself. It wasn't until the sound of multiple explosions coming from nearby did the princess return to reality.

Snapping her head towards the direction of the commotion, Lisesharte's gaze fell upon the colosseum where she had a sinking suspicion that a certain blonde-haired boy was raising hell out of sheer boredom.

"Well that was a bust… in every sense of the word." grumbling to himself, Ragna lay face-up amongst a sea of debris and charred metal in the middle of a small crater. Despite the damages, he himself wasn't injured at all but still lay staring up at a blue, cloudless sky. Growling to himself, Ragna's grip tightened on the empty scabbard that he held.

"Hey, what's going on here?!" a voice came from above. Not bothering to sit up, Ragna merely glanced to see a pouting Lisesharte standing high above him in the spectator's seats with her arms crossed. "How did I guess it was you?"

"Cut it with the rhetorical crap." Ragna groaned as he rolled over and dragged himself to his feet. As he made his way over the girl, she jumped down to meet him.

"I'm guessing Orochi's going to need a full body repair?" Lisesharte said as her eyes narrowed, shifting from the wreckage then to Ragna and then back to the wreckage. Much to her surprise, Ragna unclipped his Sword Device from his lower back and brandished the other hilt.

"I saved you the trouble this time around." with a snarky smile, Ragna showed her that he actually was using a separate Sword Device. It was only seconds later that he remembered the scraps of metal behind him as he gave a much more penitent smile. "Well, sort of."

"I'm almost afraid to ask," the princess sighed as the Reaper stood shoulder to shoulder with her as they both studied the cluttered field, "but what did you do this time?"

"I know you're not gonna like the sound of this but hell with it." Ragna looked away from the girl as he let out a sigh, knowing full well that what he was about to say was not going to sit well with his friend. "I was experimenting with ways to exploit a Drag-Ride's berserk state."

"Are you insane?!"

 _Yep. There it is…_

"Let me explain: the berserk state is a bitch. Ever since that incident at the Ruins with Fafnir…" Ragna's voice trailed off a bit as he was reminded of a certain silver-haired troublemaker but he dismissed the thought with a shake of the head and cleared his throat. "Ever since that incident at the Ruins, I've been thinking of a way to use that state to your advantage."

"And how did you manage to make the Drag-Ride go berserk?" Lisesharte said as she put her hands on her hips. "Judging by the bits and pieces strewn around us, you were using a general purpose variant. Since it's relatively simple in terms of functionality it would've been hard to force it into a berserk state."

"Um… about that." scratching his forehead, Ragna tried to avoid eye contact with the girl as she stared daggers into him. "I kinda just tinkered with some of the internal hardware and maxed out its output, you know? Other than that, I got nothing."

Lisesharte stared at the boy, mouth hanging open. She tried to think of a response but only a series of short, obscure syllables dribbled off of her lips.

"Alright," finally able to form full sentences again, Lisesharte grabbed Ragna by the hand and dragged him towards one of the gates of the arena, "I've decided that you need to take a break from training."

"Like hell!" Ragna shouted as he tried to resist against the girl's tugging. "Also, since when were you in charge of me?"

"Ever since you decided to destroy school property." the girl said flatly as she gave Ragna a smirk only for the latter to roll his eyes.

"It's not like it's anything new to me." he grumbled to himself.

"You say something?" with an eyebrow cocked, Lisesharte looked back at Ragna.

"Uh, no. Nothing at all."

"Is dragging me into town your guys' default to prevent me from doing whatever I damn well please?" Ragna said flatly as he found himself being pulled once more through the increasingly familiar town square.

Being late in the afternoon, the city was at its busiest hour. The late afternoon air was warm and slightly humid, ideal for those selling frozen products. The flow of individuals entering and leaving the various shops lining either side was like that of water. The shouting of street vendors were drowned out only by the noise in the streets. The plethora of civilians on foot only caused trouble for the numerous manually drawn carriages as the horses usual gallop had to be slowed to creep to avoid trampling anyone in the surrounding area.

"Quiet you." Lisesharte snapped as she guided him, much against his will. "Besides, it's not like we're here for completely no reason. I needed to run a few errands anyways."

"Okay, then let me ask at least this much," ennui and unamusement stung at the boy's tone as the words rolled lazily off of his tongue, "was it really necessary to drag me along?"

"Indirectly, yes." the princess' response caused Ragna to raise an eyebrow at first before she provided some clarification. "In a few weeks, the Knight Squadron is undergoing a training camp on an island. Being surrounded by water, it's only natural to bring a swimsuit. That means you too."

"Of course..." Ragna mumbled as his forehead connected with his palm as he let out a deep sigh. "Why am I not surprised?"

"So how does it look?" Lisesharte's upper half peered out of a curtain, revealing that the girl was wearing a red bikini. "W-well don't just sit there… say something you idiot!"

"Huh? Oh… right." a very deflated Ragna gave an awkward thumbs up as he struggled to stay awake as he lazily sat back against a wooden bench inside the shop. "Looks great. Honest."

Judging by Lisesharte's less than pleased expression, Ragna knew that he'd misspoken. Despite this, he merely shrugged it off.

"Geez!" disappearing quickly behind the curtain, the girl continued talking much to his general annoyance. "Act a little bit more enthused, even if you have to fake it! And besides that, I had a feeling that bringing you here was a bad idea."

"Is that so?" Ragna chuckled with an amused smirk as his friend walked out of the changing booth, back in her school uniform. "Then I have a tip for next time: don't."

Lisesharte said nothing but shook her head as she walked passed him. In her hand was the swimsuit that she had just tried on. Glad that their little outing was seemingly finished, Ragna followed the princess towards the checkout area only for his stomach to sink when he saw that she was heading towards the men's section.

"Oi." Ragna interjected, catching the girl's attention as she glanced towards him with a rather annoyed expression as he stuck his thumb over his shoulder. "If you want to buy that thing, the cashier's on the other side of the store."

"You really are hopeless aren't you?" with a sigh, Lisesharte motioned towards the of swim wear. "We're here for you too, you know. You don't have a swim suit from my knowledge."

"Your knowledge, huh?" with a skeptical look, Ragna raised an eyebrow as his gaze shifted from her to the collection of garments. After a few seconds of searching, his gaze fell upon a pair of plain red swim trunks and hurriedly selected them. "There, can we go now?"

"I would ask if you wanted to try it on," Lisesharte sighed, "but even a fool would know the answer to that question."

"Damn straight." Ragna said flatly as he pulled the girl in the opposite direction.

"And there goes two weeks of pay." Ragma said glumly as he and Lisesharte walked through the brightly lamp-lit streets, a paper bag at both of their sides.

"That's really your fault you know." she said as they ducked and weaved between groups of civilians. "Over the past few weeks, all you've done is train. You aren't going to be paid for the jobs you haven't done you know."

Ragna merely snorted as he continued walking, doing his best not to fall behind and be swept along with the current of oncoming people. With night beginning to set in, the two of them decided it would be best to head back to campus. That was the initial plan at least but the city's nightlife seemed even more active than usual.

Unfortunately for them, considering how deep within the shop was it was beginning to be a challenge when it came to finding a way back. On top of a lack of directions, the large numbers of people didn't improve on their situation. Eventually reaching the ever so familiar town square after twenty minutes of walking, Ragna finally found hope that they would get back at a decent time.

With the large groups, Ragna and Lisesharte had to take the long way around the square to get to the street that led back to the academy. As they continued, Ragna caught sight of the restaurant that he and Lisesharte ate at the first time they went out together. From the doorway, an employee glared at him as Ragna gave a nervous smile and a small wave before picking up his pace. Noticing her friend's strange behaviour, Lisesharte didn't even both to scold him and sighed instead as she shook her head.

"You still need to repay them don't you?" the princess said as she glanced over her shoulder with eyes narrowed.

"Don't remind me." he groaned. "I'll get to it eventually."

"Eventually, huh?" giving her friend a mischievous grin, she wheeled around and pointed at him. "Alright! As princess of the New Empire, I'm charging you an interest rate until you've paid it back in full!"

"Oh bullshit!" an exasperated Ragna shouted, catching the attention of many bystanders. "And you chose now of all times to pull that card?"

Ragna was about to bite his tongue but instead of his dry humor being met with the usual downcast expression, she was smiling, laughing even. Not able to contain himself anymore, Ragna felt a small chuckle tickling the base of his throat and let it out. Even still, Ragna couldn't help but be mesmerized, even if ever so slightly, by the the girl's radiant features under the light of the street lamps.

"Hey?" Lisesharte said as she leaned in close and pried Ragna from his thoughts. "You alright? Your face is red. Catch a fever or something?"

"In the middle of spring?" Ragna said as he turned his head in an effort to hide his blush. "I highly dou-"

The Reaper's heart skipped a beat, his bashful expression morphing into one of pure malice as he spotted a tall blonde-haired noble from across the plaza. At his side, a beautiful silver-haired young woman.

"Ragna?" Lisesharte said timidly as she saw Ragna's face darken. His teeth bared like that of a wild animal. Without another word, he advanced towards the couple and drew his Sword Device.

"BASTARD!"

Charging the man, Ragna was about to bring his blade across the man's chest but a flash of sparks intercepted him. Eyes widened in shock, it wasn't Balzeride's blade that collided with his. Instead, it was Krulcifer who gave him a dangerous glare. Not wanting to hurt his former classmate, Ragna hopped backwards, blade still at the ready.

"It has been quite some time since our last encounter, hasn't it Mr. Reaper?" the noble sneered, completely unshaken by Ragna's sudden appearance.

"Shove it asshole!" the teen growled as his grip tightened on the hilt of his sword. "What the hell did you do to Krulcifer?!"

"Aren't you jumping to assumptions a bit too quickly?" Krulcifer intervened as she flicked her blade gracefully and returned it to it's sheath. ""I am simply following through the the deal that _you_ had arranged."

The girl's words cut deeper than any wound that he had received. Unable to think of a rebuttal, Ragna gritted his teeth as a low sound came from the depths of his throat. From the behind the silver-haired girl, Ragna could feel Balzeride giving him an amused sneer.

"Hey!" finally catching up to him, Lisesharte's breath caught as she recognized the all too familiar faces. "Krulcifer…"

"And even the princess has graced us with her presence." Balzeride gave a deep bow but all of them could feel the spite in the feigned gesture. "So what brings you here on this fine evening, especially with someone like him?"

"I will not allow you to speak of my friend in such a manner, even if you are a member of a noble house." the princess retorted. "And I do not believe I am inclined to answer such a question."

"My, such a tongue on you." Balzeride snorted as he turned a full one hundered and eighty degrees. "If that's all you wanted to say, I suppose we shall be taking our leave. Come along, my wife."

Obeying the noble's command without reluctance, Krulcifer turned away from her friends and followed the man. At a loss for words, Ragna could only run after the girl, holding out his hand as if to pull her back to him as she retreated into the crowds.

"Krulcifer! I swear I'll -"

"Stay away from me." Krulcifer snapped as she shot him an icy glare.

Ragna couldn't move. His body became completely unresponsive. No matter how hard he wanted it to move, he seemed paralyzed as the evening crowds swallowed whatever view he had left of the girl.

At Balzeride's side, Krulcifer could feel the noble giving her a satisfied smirk but she didn't look at him.

She couldn't bear to.

Instead, as the girl walked, she kept her head down to hide the tears brimming her eyes.

"GOD DAMMIT!"

A massive wave of shadows rushed forward and slammed into the far side of the arena. Far from running out of energy, Ragna subconsciously swung his blade a few more times with each motion releasing an increasing amount of energy.

Finally exhausting himself, Ragna dug the giant copy of his original greatsword into the soft ground of the colosseum and leaned against it. It had been long past dusk and was completely dark outside save for the stadium lights but he couldn't care less. He originally thought that going into town would temporarily relieve him of the frustration that he'd been held down with due to recent events with only for it to worsen.

"Just what the hell were you thinking…" his hushed voice trailed off in between heavy panting.

The grip on the hilt of his weapon tightened subconsciously as the events played through his mind for what seemed like the hundredth time. Ragna could feel his temper rising once more as he let out a stream of energy. In his frustration, he began to throw out darkness-infused attacks absent-mindedly, not paying attention to what was happening to his machine or what was going on around him. As he kept swinging, he didn't even realize that his Drag-Ride was on the verge of going berserk. Suddenly, a crimson beam of light slammed into the ground in front of him, bringing him back to his senses.

"Alright, I've seen enough." turning his head, Ragna saw Lisesharte in Tiamat, pointing its cannon towards him. Having got his attention she deactivated her Drag-Ride and hopped down to approach him. "It's too painful for me to watch you beat yourself up like this."

"And just how long were you watching me?" Ragna growled as she approached.

"If you had been paying attention," the princess wagged a finger and gave him a half-hearted smirk, "you would've noticed that I've been here almost the entire time."

"... so you saw all of that, huh?" Ragna gave a hollow chuckle as he turned away from Lisesharte in embarrassment, cheeks a light shade of red. "Against my better judgement, I'm pretty sure you're here for other reasons to berate me. Let's hear it."

"I know what you're planning Ragna." Lisesharte said flatly as she stared Ragna directly in the eyes as if trying to give him a warning. "I-"

"You're what?" Ragna snapped. "You came here to stop me? Tough shit, I'm shutting down this stupid wedding no matter what."

Lisesharte gave a slight laugh as she looked at the boy's expression, in his eyes were the ever familiar flame that she had become accustomed to.

"Of course I'm not going to stop you, idiot." she said as Ragna gave her a confused expression. In turn, Lisesharte gave him a playful wink and a thumbs up. "Rather, I'm going to give you a hand with your little vendetta."

"Don't." with a stern tone, Ragna leaned back into his Drag-Ride. "It's my fault that all of this happened. If I hadn't fallen asleep that night, Krulcifer would still be here with us. I need to settle this by myself, on my own terms."

"And that's where I need to remind you that Krulcifer isn't important to just you." Lisesharte retaliated as she crossed her arms. 'She's our friend too, you know. Besides, you don't even know where the wedding is taking place, right?"

A moment of awkward silence and Ragna's expression confirmed the girl's suspicions. With a sigh, Ragna deactivated Orochi and dropped down to be able to speak with Lisesharte normally.

"Alright, you got me." Ragna admitted with as he walked up to Lisesharte. "So what are you thinking?"

"Well for starters, I like this situation as much as the next person." the princess said disdainfully with a shake of her head, "And from what I remember, the Kreutzer family isn't the prestigious and honorable family that everyone thinks that they are."

"Care to elaborate?" Ragna said, growing increasingly annoyed as his friend was seemingly beating around the subject.

"In truth, the Kreutzer bloodline was around during the time of the Old Empire." signals immediately went off in Ragna's mind at the news as Lisesharte continued. "They were infamous for using their wealth to raise private armies and exploit the Ruins and according to some rumors, they also took part in the coup."

 _Exploiting the Ruins? And for that bastard to also be targeting Krulcifer… sonuvabitch!_

"Okay, so then where does Balzeride fit into the equation?" Ragna asked.

"That's just the thing." Lisharte gave a troubled expression as she seemed to be deep in thought. "He seems to fit all too well. He's overly ambitious, almost as if he's trying to reach a goal but I'm not sure what."

"I couldn't give a damn less." Ragna growled. "I'm taking that bastard down."

Lisesharte, slightly off-put by Ragna's spike in aggression, couldn't help but smile a little bit at the boy's demeanor.

 _There's the Ragna I know._

"So what's the plan?" Ragna asked as he glanced towards Lisesharte.

"I can't really do much for you in terms of assisting you in terms of fighting Balzeride." she admitted although she had a feeling that Ragna would want to handle the noble on his own. "But I can give you the location of the wedding however. It's going to be held this Sunday at one in the afternoon at the church in the middle of town. You know, the big white one near the plaza."

"Seriously?" Ragna, in a slightly better mood, gave a light-hearted chuckle. "Even I could've guessed that."

"True enough." the blonde-haired girl shrugged before giving him a playful smirk. "But how long would it have taken you to figure it out?"

"Oh, piss off!" Ragna laughed to himself. After a few moments he let his expression soften to a small smile, feeling happy for the first time ever since he had heard the news of the engagement. "Lisha… thanks. I owe you again."

"Of course not." shaking her head, the princess smiled at Ragna and gave him a thumbs up. "Just make sure you get Krulcifer back for us, okay?"

"Consider it done." he said with a confident smirk.

 **Nothing to see here, just fixing some parts I was less than satisfied with.**


	8. RE:Demolition of Romance

**EDIT:** **This is a re-upload of the most recent chapter due to me not liking how it was written (sorry). While you're here, I will be continuing the series i just had to take a break and re-evaluate how some things will be presented but the next chapter is being worked on and should be out before the end of this month. Once again, deepest apologies for the silence and lack of updates.**

The sounds of hurried footsteps came from outside Ragna's dorm. With a start, Ragna's upper body surged upward with enough velocity to make him light-headed. As he let out a quiet groan to himself, Ragna glanced out the window as rays of vibrant sunlight flooded into his room. From what he had to go on, he assumed it was still relatively early in the morning, roughly nine. Stretching out his arms, Ragna shot a glance towards his door as he began to grow gradually annoyed with the amount of commotion outside but he knew there was no helping it.

Everyone was getting ready for the wedding after all.

Slowly getting off of his bed and onto his feet, Ragna glanced over to the nightstand across from his bed as his gaze fell on the sheet of cloth hanging loosely off of the corner. With a single fluid motion, he grabbed the towel and his combat attire as he made his way towards the bathhouse. As he was about to shut his door, he caught a glimpse of what used to be a large wooden box that was now buried beneath a mass of paper slips.

"I'll get to you guys eventually." he muttered to himself before shutting the door. "There's still a request a request that I need to see to."

As he made his way through the hallways, he saw many of the students outside of their usual uniforms and instead were wearing dresses of various designs in colors. As he passed, many of them gave Ragna a bashful or embarrassed glance. Doing the best he could, he pretended not to notice but couldn't help but shiver as he could only imagine what things could've been like had Kagura had been in his current position.

As he reached the entrance if the changing rooms, Ragna placed his palm against it and was about to push the door open but stopped himself. The events of the bathhouse incident raced through his mind as he stepped back and gently placed his ear against the door so he could confirm that the bathhouse was empty. Silence greeted him from the opposite end as he took a deep breath and slowly pushed against it.

"Hey!" shouting from the outside, taking caution to ensure that he couldn't see inside the changing room. "Anyone in here?"

"It's fine. Please come in." a youthful yet unfamiliar voice beckoned to him. Swallowing hard, Ragna crept inside to see a familiar face there to greet him.

"Wait a second." Ragna said, slightly taken back. "You were the one who gave me that tea a few days ago, right? The hell are you doing here?"

Much to his relief, the girl was fully clothed but wasn't wearing a school uniform nor any formal wear. Instead the young grey-haired girl was wearing a worn over-sized t-shirt and baggy pants with a dirty apron draped over the outfit. Next to her was a pale of brown water and the mop she held in her hands.

"Nothing in particular." she said meekly as she gripped the mop close to her thin body. "Sorry for intruding. Please enjoy your bath."

Ragna was about to speak up but the girl slipped past him, doing her best to avoid eye contact. As the girl rounded the corner and disappeared, Ragna was left as dumbfounded and confused as ever. With a sigh, he hurried to change into the swim wear he had gotten a few days beforehand and slung the towel over his shoulder as he approached the pool.

"The hell was up with her?" he muttered to himself as he slipped into the hot water and closed his eyes.

Over the course of the next thirty minutes, Ragna collected his thoughts in an attempt to focus. During the encounter at the Ruins, he had observed Balzeride's movements and combat prowess in secret. If today was any indication, he would need it. Of course, a few, very crucial things regarding his opponent's capabilities had still been well kept such as Azi Dahaka's Divine Raiment.

 _I already used the Blazblue so there's no doubt that bastard has come up with a way to counter it. Ugh, I guess there goes my "get-out-of-jail-free" card._

The boy's eyes gentle opened at the sound of the bell tower in the distance, signifying the passing of the hour. Now exactly noon, Ragna pulled himself up from the comfort of the steaming water and wrapped his towel as he made his way back to the changing room. Changing in what he considered record speed, Ragna let out a sigh as he gripped his Sword Device. With a shake of his head, he clipped it onto his lower back and took off in a dead sprint for the entrance of the academy.

This time would be different.

* * *

Much to his surprise, the courtyard at the entrance of the facility was completely vacant. Still not letting up on his sprint, the blonde-haired boy made his way to the exit but was stopped as he saw multiple shadows moving about near the entrance.

Quickly jerking his head, a flash followed by the feeling of cold, sharp steel cutting his cheek caused him to jump back a few feet and draw his sword. The metal object bounced off of the concrete and skidded to a stop, a thin layer of crimson covered the blade. From in front of him, five hooded figures came into view, all of them snickering from behind their veiled visage and all of them armed.

 _God dammit, I don't have time for this shit. But this is too well-timed to be a coincidence..._

Without warning, one of them lunged forward with a two-handed broadsword raised above his head as he prepared to swing. The man's battle cry was cut short by a choking sound as Ragna elbowed him in the gut hard and threw him over his shoulder in a single motion. Catching the man's weapon as it fell with one hand, Ragna aimed the blade at the man's throat with his Sword Device readied to handle the others.

"I don't give a shit concerning who sent you or what business you have with me," Ragna snarled at the four other hooded men, "but I've got somewhere to be. If you back off, I'll let you go."

"And let you interfere with our boss? Ha!" the man on the ground laughed. With his eyes exposed Ragna could see his expression.

Greed.

"Damn mercenaries." growling quietly to himself, Ragna switched his grip on the broadsword to a reverse grip and prepared to plunge the blade into the bandit's chest.

The man's face paled as his eyes went wide with terror but at the last moment, Ragna feinted the strike as the blade cut the air only millimeter in front of mercenary's face. Before he could react however, Ragna sent a forceful kick to the man's skull, knocking him unconscious. With a shallow sigh, Ragna averted his gaze towards the remaining mercenaries.

"If you guys are hell bent on completing your little mission, I'd really like you to hurry this up." he said as he pointed the broadsword at the group. "I've got a wedding to crash and I'd rather not be late."

* * *

"Aaand perfect!" taking a step back towards the rest of the Knight Squadron, all dressed for the occassion, Lisesharte stared in awe at her friend. Krulcifer gripped her arm in embarrassment and looked away, face slightly red.

Just by looking at the girl's wedding gown, anyone could tell that she was of noble birth. The outfit was completely white and was modelled after a strapless ball gown with the hem resembling the petals of a rose. Various clear gems, jewels and pearls decorated the dress and reflected the sunlight in a brilliant display. Krulcifer had her long hair braided and draped over her left shoulder and wore her veil like a crown.

"I'm not sure how I really feel about this." she said shyly, a mixture of embarrassment and nervousness stinging her voice. "It just seems way too "showy" for my tastes."

"Nonsense!" a voice ang out from the opposite end of the small room. Every head turned as the groom, Lord Balzeride dressed in a fancy white suit with a crimson rose exposed from his breast pocket, entered the room. "I'm ecstatic that you all could make it! My wife looks beautiful, wouldn't you all agree?"

Everyone gave a nod and a forced smile as the man observed his bride. Lisesharte in specific had a hard time suppressing her disgust and opted to lowering her gaze after the nod. Taking note of the girl's expression, Balzeride smirked to himself.

"I do hate to intrude on your reunion but if you could, would you lovely ladies allow my wife and I some alone time?" the nobleman asked humbly.

Without much room to argue, everyone agreed albeit begrudgingly. As each girl filed out of the room, they gave Krulcifer a supportive smile or even a hug. As Lisesharte made her way out, she placed a hand on Krulcifer's shoulder. In turn, the silver-haired girl forced a smile and gave her a small nod. Without another word, she left the bride and groom on their own.

"An impressive farce." Krulcifer said sternly, making sure that her classmates were out of an ear-shot distance. "But why go this far?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the groom sneered. "It's merely to put on a show. After today, I will have legal claim over you, a key to the Ruins no… a key to power! And that in itself is worth celebrating."

"So you would pretend like you care for a tool just for today?" she said defiantly. "You make me sick Lord Kreutzer!"

"Oh?" the man's expression turned to one of irritation as he glared at his bride. "You think that you of all people have any place to lecture me about using others as tools?"

Krulcifer went silent and shrank back at the man's words. Giving himself a satisfied smirk, Balzeride shoved his hands into his pockets and turned towards the door as he chuckled to himself.

"It seems that we're both guilty. In that sense, we're both accomplices." opening the door to leave, Balzeride glanced back one last time with a snide expression. "Now if you need me, I will be discussing the afterparty with some of the nobles. And remember to put on a good performance today, alright?"

Now by herself, Krulcifer felt numb as she stared blankly at the door. A mixture of anger, frustration and sadness welled up inside her chest. As much as she wanted to scream, the girl resolved to retain her composure and hide the emotions. Without thinking, her hand navigated to and gripped the pendant around her neck, one that she had gotten from someone dear to her from what seemed like a lifetime ago. At the moment, those distant memories were the girl's only source of comfort.

* * *

Multiple people, some nobles and some commoners, lined the pews as the church bells rang. Lisesharte along with Tilfurr, Shalice and Philphie were chosen to be the bridesmaids and stood next to the altar at the front of the church. Every now and again the princess caught sight of Balzeride going to and from, conversing with the higher-class attendants.

It wasn't before long that the groomsmen took their places across from the girls. Lisesharte couldn't help but notice the amount of suggestive looks that her and the others were getting. With a small growl of irritation, the princess debated on whether or not to cut the ceremony short herself.

With another ring of the bells and the beckoning of the priest signaled the beginning of the wedding. Everyone went silent as notes rang out from the organ as it played an ever-so familiar melody. Balzeride appeared at the entrance of the church and strode forward to the tempo of the music, taking each step with pride and grace. As he reached the front of the long stretch, he gave the priest a warm smile that he reciprocated as he took his place next to the altar. Shortly afterwards, Krulcifer came as she was escorted by her adoptive father. The two only got halfway down the aisle as a loud thud came from the entrance of the church.

"I OBJECT!"

Every head turned towards the direction of the commotion to see a young spiky-haired blonde at the church's entrance. Whispers came from the crowd as the service was seemingly paused.

"Dammit…" Ragna muttered quietly to himself as he scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "And _THIS_ is why I never did theatre…"

The boy was scratched and bruised from head to toe with a large gash on his cheek, dried blood running down the side of his face. Ragna himself was physically exhausted, panting heavily as he bent over and supported himself using his knees.

Balzeride's expression was one of shock but in his eyes, a small spark of fury could be seen clear as day but died as quickly as it was born. Krulcifer gave a gasp as she saw him but her legs refused to move, not knowing whether to run to him or away from him. Most of the civilians were confused and almost panicked at the boy's sudden intrusion. The Knight Squadron, however, were either happy to see Ragna or down-right terrified. Lisesharte however gave a proud smile towards her friend.

"Excuse me sir." the priest began in a stern voice. "This is a sacred ceremony and I will not permit-"

"Shove it gramps." a reinvigorated Ragna growled towards the holy man, earning a gasp from the crowd. "I came here to settle a score."

Balzeride began to make his way towards Ragna with the latter approaching the former. The two stopped in the middle of the aisle way a few feet from each other, carefully eyeing one another.

"So may I have the displeasure of asking why you would interrupt my wedding?" Balzeride asked with a tone of mild irritation.

"You already know, asshole." Ragna snarled. "I came to shut down this little shitshow."

"I hate to break it to you but there's nothing you can do, my friend. As you can see, it's already well on it's way."

"No shit." with a shake of his head, Ragna unclipped his Sword Device from his back and held it out. "I came here to make a deal. The same as before, no bullshit, just you, me and our Drag-Rides."

"Well isn't someone the sore loser?" Balzeride mocked him with a shrug as he turned away. "Besides, you have nothing of interest to offer. You have already lost. My prize, claimed."

"Then how about I raise the stakes?" Ragna said sternly, raising his voice. "I have a new deal. We duel right now, just the two of us. If I win, you end this stupid thing and you give us Krulcifer back. But if you win, you get your little wedding but I will also become your personal servant. Whenever you call, I'll be there"

A choked gasp of air could be heard from both Lisesharte and Krulcifer at Ragna's proposition. The nobleman glanced back toward Ragna. That alone was enough to tell Ragna that he had Balzeride's attention.

"You're investigating the Ruins, right?" giving Balzeride a firm glare. "In that case you're going to need powerful troops to assist you and you've seen what I can do. So, not a bad deal right?"

The entire church went silent for a moment as time paused itself. A muffled chuckle was the ony thing that could be heard but it soon escalated into maniacal laughter.

"I see! I see!" the nobleman cackled as one hand covered his face as he tried to contain himself. "The Grim Reaper is a much more foolish man than I once thought! To sacrifice yourself for a single woman? But even fools have their worth. Very well, I accept!"

"Someone! Quickly fetch my blade!" Balzeride shouted as he waved his hand towards one of the multiple groomsmen. "It is time for today's entertainment!"

"Actually, one last request." Ragna said as the noble turned towards him, a vicious smile plastered onto his face, "Can we do this away from this place? I've seen one too many churches burn in my lifetime."

* * *

After twenty minutes, the large group reached a flat, vacant stretch of grassy land on the outskirts of the city far from the church per Ragna's request. From behind them, Ragna could hear the whispers of nobles placing bets on the match as they walked, much to his two combatants led the way as they marched to their designated battleground. Lisesharte, of course, gave Ragna a lengthy nagging about the recklessness of the deal but he brushed it off. All the while, Krulcifer kept her distance in silence the entirety of the way. As they reached their destination, the spectators gave Ragna and Balzeride a great deal of space as the walked to opposite ends of the meadow. Alterize was appointed to be the overseer of the duel and stepped between the two as they prepared.

"The conditions for the match have been set. The first to surrender is declared the loser, no exceptions and no ties. Do you have any complaints, gentlemen?" the butler shouted as her gaze shifted from left to right. In response, both Ragna and Blazeride shook their heads as their hands wents for their swords. "Very well. Deploy and standby for combat!"

"Orochi, connect on!"

"Azi Dahaka, connect on!"

Two flashes of light illuminated the meadow andfaded as two machine stood in their place. Ragna felt his heart beating much faster than usual as his grip tightened on his massive great sword. Balzeride, on the other hand, was completely calm and almost carefree and idle waited for the duel to begin. Once more, Alterize inspected both fighters before raising her hand high above her head.

(cue Boku no Hero Academia OST - You Say Run + V2)

"Begin!" she shouted as the butler's hand shot downwards.

Not waiting for Balzeride to make the first move, Ragna propelled himself forward with immense speed. Covering the length of several thousand meters in a matter of mere seconds, Balzeride barely had time to react as Ragna's blade collided with his halberd. Sparks flew as the weapons parried one another. Quickly disengaging, Balzeride sent himself backwards to gain distance.

"Don't even try it!" Ragna roared as his Drag-Ride's palm began amassing dark energy. " _Hell's Fang!_ "

Surging forward before his opponent could recover, Ragna's fist connected against Azi Dahaka's barrier. Still in a dazed state, Balzeride attempted to swing in a wide arc with his halberd but the panicked maneuver was poorly executed and was easily dodged as Ragna ducked beneath it. Pressing against the ground with all the force he could manage, Ragna sent himself upwards as he swung his blade in a reverse grip.

" _Inferno Divider!"_

With his opponent airborne, Ragna performed an uppercut followed by a shadow covered axe kick, sending the noble to the ground creating a large cloud of dust upon impact. Still in the air, Ragna rushed into the cloud in a blur of red.

Attempting to catch the Reaper off guard, Balzeride fired an uncharged shot from Azi Dahaka's shoulder-mounted cannons. Despite the speed he was travelling, Ragna barely managed to dodge before slamming his blade against Balzeride's Drag-Ride, dispersing the plume of dust in a massive gale.

"You little- !" Balzeride growled as he forcefully slammed the butt of his weapon against Orochi, sending it backwards.

Reeling from the blow Ragna could barely make out the outline of Azi Dahaka as the halberd came down on top of him.

" _Quick Draw_!" in an act of desperation, Ragna shot forward and swung in the timeframe of a millisecond.

In a blur of red, Ragna appeared behind the noble who was still trying to process what had just occured. Shifting his body to face him, Ragna transferred energy into the over-sized _Blood-Scythe_ as it transformed from a sword to a massive scythe. The weapon's large sweeping arc connected with Balzeride, stunning him as Ragna followed up with an upwards swing.

"This is for Krulcifer, you piece of shit!" Ragna shouted as he swung the scythe downwards followed by a vicious assault of strikes. "I'll make sure make sure you repay everything! Every last minute, every last word, _EVERY DAMN TEAR_!"

Quickly reverting his weapon to it's sword state, Ragna thrusted the blade forward, destroying whatever was left of Balzeride's barrier and sent the noble skidding for a few hundred yards before dropping to one knee.

"It's over, Balzeride." Raga said calmly as he planted his sword into the ground. "Your barrier's gone and you barely got a hit on me. Continuing this match is nothing but suicide."

He gave no response but instead began laughing. Thrusting his arm forward, a small blade attached to a thick wire shot forward and coiled itself around Orochi's arm.

"Ragna, be careful!" Krulcifer shouted from the sidelines as she pushed her way through the crowd. "Azi Dahaka's Divine Raiment- "

The bride's words were cut off as an older noble with the same pale eyes and light blonde hair, presumably Balzeride's father, cupped his hand over Krulcifer's mouth.

"You sonuvabitch!" Ragna shouted, enraged at the man's actions, as he turned to deal with the noble himself but stopped as he was flung forward.

"Where do you think you're looking?" Balzeride sneered as he met Ragna. "This fight isn't over yet!"

Quickly grabbing Orochi's ensnared arm with his own Drag-Ride, Balzeride quickly pulled Ragna close to him before sending a powerful punch to the boy's chest, sending him soaring across the plain.

"Ugh… damn that hurt?" Ragna mumbled as he recovered. The blow had blurred his vision but he still managed to look up to see that Balzeride was grinning at him, his hair white and his eyes blood red.

"Come on, Mr. Reaper." he chuckled. "What's wrong? Can't take a hit?"

"Shut it, bastard." Ragna growled as he readied his sword again. For some reason, his body felt significantly weaker but he simply brushed it off as fatigue.

Surging forward, Ragna brought his blade over his head and swung. Under normal circumstances, the attack would've found it's mark but the weapon seemed heavier than before. Before he could react, Balzeride's own swing from halberd had already connected. The impact of the blow sent Ragna tumbling but he still managed to land on his feet. As he recovered, Balzeride was already right on top of him. Using his halberd as an over-sized bo staff, the man losed multiple attacks in quick succession with impressive fluidity. Despite the exhaustion catching up with him, Ragna was able to block a few of the attacks.

Swinging the end of the halberd upwards, Balzeride opened Ragna up as he sent a swift kick to his flank causing him to be sent a few yards back. As he got up, Ragna let out a growl in annoyance as he faced Balzeride.

 _What the hell is going on? Was that bastard just holding back at the beginning of the match? No.. even if he was, he seemed to be on the ropes before. This fatigue just came out of nowhere too. Not to mention my barrier is being drained in record time..._

"You seem to be on your last leg." Balzeride taunted. "Do you still wish to keep going?"

Ragna gave no response besides lunging forward towards the noble. Using only one hand to wield his halberd, Balzeride blocked the attack with little to no effort.

"You're a tenacious one aren't you?" Balzeride smirked as dark energy began to surround him, much to Ragna's surprise. "I can see why you peaked that woman's interest but I think it's about time you knew your place, you damn worm!"

Ragna jumped backwards as the blade of the halberd came crashing down on top of him. Despite missing his target, Balzeride gave Ragna a crazed smile as he dragged the weapon forwards, sending chunks of earth and a massive wave of shadows forwards. Still recovering, Ragna could barely move as Balzeride leaped forth into the mess of dark energy. One strike staggered Ragna as he felt a heavy blow on his left flank followed a quick jab taking out his leg, forcing him to one knee. Outside his field of view, a strike slammed into his back and another shifted his view from the ground to the blue sky as an upwards strike sent him skywards. Balzeride quickly moved into position and charged his shoulder mounted-cannons.

" _Hell's Glow_!" Balzeride commanded gleefully.

Two red beams laced with a shadowy energy shot forwards from the barrels and engulfed Ragna. As the figure began to fall from the sky, Balzeride channeled the dark enrgy into his halberd.

" _Havoc Scissors!_ " rushing forward, a darkness covered halberd met the falling Drag-Ride with a massive overhead strike. A scream of pain was drowned out by the roar of dark energy rushing forwards as Balzeride swung the halberd upwards, shattering Ragna's barrier and sending him flying.

With a sharp cough causing a thin line of crimson to come from the corner his mouth. Ragna struggled to his feet, a streak of blood flowed from his forehead and binded his right eye. Weakly cursing under his breath, Ragna became increasingly aware of his Drag-Ride's condition. The entire machine was smoking, quaking, heavily damaged and the lights were going ballistic.

 _Out of all the time, you decide that now is a good time for this shit?_

Barely able to support himself on his own, Ragna had to support himself using his sword. From across the field, Balzeride gave him a cocky smirk and a look of pity.

"Oh my, how the tables have turned." he said in a cheery voice. "It seems that your Drag-Ride has gone berserk and furthermore, you don't seem to be in any condition to continue. If you concede this match to me, I will let you off without servitude and-"

"And what?" Ragna snapped. "Have one of your lackeys off me afterwards?"

For only moment, Balzeride's face paled but returned to it's normal color as he forced another smirk.

"Whatever could you be talking ab-"

"You can't hide your true nature Balzeride, I can see right through you." regaining his posture, Ragna was able to stand on his own two feet by himself again. "I did my research on you and your family. Exploiting the Ruins, raising private armies and the like."

A hushed gasp came from the crowd at the announcement followed by whispers. In his peripherals, Ragna could see that man that he assumed to be Balzeride's father shrink back into the crowd as many started to avert their gaze to him.

"Hmm." with a shrug, Balzeride took a battle stance once more. Despite his dismissive response, Ragna knew just by the noble's expression that he had struck a chord. "Have you heard of the one they call Ragnarok?"

"Vaguely." Ragna panted heavily as he got to his feet. "Some sort of Abyss right?"

"You would be correct, much to my astonishment.' the noble chuckled. "I have already declared my intent to bring it down once it inevitably rises. In order to see that goal through, I need access to the Ruins which means I need to make _her_ my wife. Think about it, the life of a single woman can save this entire kingdom, Now knowing this, knowing that victory is not without sacrifice, would you still obstruct my way?"

Ragna gritted his teeth as he gave no verbal response.

"That's enough."

Both combatants looked towards the crowd, Balzeride's grin widened even further. Krulcifer stood at the front, no one spoke as the battlefield went silent.

"Ragna, you've already done so much for me. You reached out to me, you helped me and even now you're fighting for me for no personal gain." she shouted. Even still, Ragna could hear her voice quivering. "Me, a tool, was using you for my own ends. If we would have acknowledged each other as tools from the start, it wouldn't have to end with this feeling…"

"You know something Krulcifer?" Ragna said as he gave the teary-eyed girl a small smile. "I've been thinking about what you and Lisha told me a few days ago and the more I dwelled on it, the more I realized you two were right. I don't know the first thing about love and I couldn't do much of anything in that regard. The only thing I can do is fight. So please, for your sake, let me fight."

"Why? Even though we have no relations whatsoever, why would you fight for me?!" Krucifer cried out.

"How to put it…" Ragna paused as he scratched the back of his head. "In short, I couldn't give a damn less about who you are or what you think of me. You are important to _ME_ and that's enough of a reason to fight.

"Yeesh. Romance really isn't your strong suit. Besides, even if you were to beat me here, what would you do about the threat of Ragnarok?" Blazeride sneered toward the boy. "Careful now, these words may carry more weight than you can imagine."

"Yeah, keep running your mouth asshole." Ragna retorted as he struggled into an offensive position. "But you're really telling me to back off of Ragnarok even when you can't fight your own battles?"

The noble's face paled momentarily as his expression shifted from cocky to enraged at the drop of a hat.

"Mind your tongue cur." Balzeride snarled. "You dare speak to me in such a manner despite your position?"

"Hasn't stopped me before." Ragna coughed as he wiped blood from the corner of his mouth. "It was a long time coming and I'm not exactly the brightest but I think I've finally figured you out."

"You wouldn't dare..."

"Your little track record of dirt wasn't the only thing I, rather my friend, found out about you." the wounded boy spoke sternly. "You were talented a talented knight, some would even say a prodigy, but your compatibility with the Drag-Rides was like water and oil. You piloting a machine dragon should be impossible"

With Balzeride fired up, Ragna glanced back towards the crowd to see Lisesharte giving him a worried look. He gave her smirk and glanced back towards his opponent.

"Instead of getting stronger own your own, you decided to take shortcuts." Ragna said. "Instead of finding your own strength, you stole it from those around you. That why you and Aiz Dahaka are so compatible. It doesn't have it's own Divine Dress, rather it steals the energy and abilities of the Drag-Rides it makes direct contact with. That is your true nature"

The shot in the dark was met with whispers from the crowd and silence from Balzeride. Despite it, Ragna knew he had hit his mark..

"So what?! Even so! This match is as good as finished!" the enraged noble shouted. "Without you Divine Dress there is no way that you can bounce back, even if by some miracle! You're defenseless!"

"And? Go ahead and crush that miracle. Never really cared for them anyway" Ragna muttered "I'm not going back on what I said. For Krulcifer sake I'm kicking your ass to the curb and if push comes to shove, I'll handle Ragnarok on my own."

Putting all the energy he could manage into his machine, Ragna boosted forwards and prepared to swing. Balzeride, however, had seen the move coming as he grinned at the boy's recklessness.

"You fool!" the noble shouted as he raised his hand, deploying three large purple barriers.

Ragna's attack was halted by the first barrier but was beginning to break as small cracks formed at the point of contact. With a loud shout, the first barrier shattered and Ragna's blade came into contact with the second. As the second shield was beginning to deteriorate, Balzeride began channeling an immense amount of dark energy into his weapon. As soon as the second barrier shattered, the noble deactivated the defensive system and heaved his blade over his head. Multiple frantic cries came from the crowd, trying to reach Ragna.

"This is the end you wannabe hero!" Balzerdie shouted gleefully as a pillar of pure darkness came crashing down on Ragna. "DIE!"

" _Yukikaze."_

Time seemed to slow for Ragna as he raised his Drag-Ride's arm in a defensive manner. A large red glyph the size of his machine appeared in front of him. As Balzeride's halberd made contact with the rune, the ground beneath him shattered as a massive amount of energy was released. Lifting his blade high above his head, Ragna used all the energy from his berserk Drag-Ride to empower his swing and brought it down on the noble, completely destroying the right side of his opponent's Drag-Ride, arm and all.

The power of the strike was enough to send Balzeride sprawling. A look of pure shock plastered on the noble's face, as with everyone else watching the duel, comprehend the series of events. Ragna, on the other hand, dropped to one knee from exhaustion.

"I-It appears that Lord Balzeride can no longer continue!" Alterize stuttered. "The duel's victor is Ragna Kisaragi!"

(end theme)

"That was oddly therapeutic…" Ragna panted as the crowd ran up to him, "in more ways than one."

"How...? How could this happen?!" Balzeride shouted as he stumbled out of his Drag-Ride.

"Easy really." Ragna said as he too got out of Orochi. "Using the stupidly large amount of energy a Drag-Ride releases before self-destructing, I was able to channel it into one last attack. It was gamble but it seemed to work out."

"Don't screw with me!" the noble cried in rage as he drew his Sword Device. "To lose to something like chance! I can't accept this! I WON'T!"

Readying the sword, Balzeride charged towards the boy. Instinctively, Lisesharte put an arm in front of Ragna to defend him but Ragna gently pushed the princess' arm down and walked passed her to meet the enraged man head-on.

"You know Balzeride," Ragna mumbled to himself, "now that I think of it, you were doing the right thing but when you resort to using the people I swore to protect…"

"YOU PIECE OF SHIT!" Balzeride shouted as he slashed at the boy.

Quickly ducking, Ragna grabbed the nole's rm and flipped him on to his back. Before he could even speak, Ragna firmly planted his knee against his chest, his own Sword Device pressed against his exposed neck.

"... that's where I draw the line." glaring at Balzeride, Ragna kept his position. Moments later, multiple people in law enforcement uniforms arrived at the battlefield to see the rather strange sight of a young boy holding a sword up to a noble. Taking the opportunity, Balzeride got the officers' attention.

"Please help me kind officers!" he pleaded. "This boy is attacking me, a member of an esteemed house, out of pure malice! Please save me!"

Ragna didn't move even as heard the sounds of handcuffs from behind him as the footsteps got gradually closer. Eventually right next to him, one of the officers motioned for Ragna to move to which he did albeit begrudgingly. Balzeride gave a malicious grin at the boy until he realized that it was his hands that were in the cuffs as he gave the law enforcers a panicked look.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Balzeride cired. "I was getting assaulted! He should be getting arrested, not me!"

"You are under arrest for multiple charges." one of the officers replied. "Actively seeking the death of your opponent during a duel is against the law. In addition, the act of hiring personal armies is strictly forbidden and furthermore, sending them after an individual."

"Oh yeah, I kinda forgot." Ragna said as he glanced towards him. "These guys helped me put your little mercenary friends behind bars. Also for future reference, make sure you hire competent assassins. I've fought mercenaries who were five times tougher and wore half as much clothing."

It took quite a bit of time for the dust to settle down. A few more enforcement officers arrived on the scene to secure Bazleride, his father as well as those who worked with them to accomplish their exploits. As the officers prepared to leave with the convicts, Ragna noticed that the individuals were having their possessions confiscated, including Aiz Dahaka's Sword Device. As Balzeride watched his prized possession leave his person, his expression became melancholy. As soon as Ragna saw the once proud man's expression, the strangest feeling of pity washed over him. Against his better judgment, he advanced on the noble.

"I guess what I said earlier wasn't completely true." Ragna said quietly, looking past him but standing shoulder to shoulder with his former enemy.

Balzeride glanced at the boy's face but not bothering to look into his equally conflicted eys.

"It's okay to lean on the power of those around you but don't confuse their strength with yours." Ragna said as he walked away. "If you can't stand on your own two feet with your own power, you have no place on the battlefield."

"I will… think on those words." he muttered as he was escorted away. Many of the nobles followed the officers as if they were trying to negotiate with them, much to Ragna's amusement.

After a few moments, all that remained were the Einfolk family, the Knight Squadron, Lisesharte, Krulcifer and of course, Ragna. Everyone stepped back as Ragna awkwardly walked up to her.

"So um…" Ragna said as he scratched the back of his head.

 _Don't screw this up. DO. NOT. Screw this up!_

"Sorry for ruining your wedding."

 _SHIT!_

Krulcifer gave no response and avoided eye contact with him. Her eyes were still red from crying earlier. Ragna didn't know what else he could do for her so he decided to speak up.

"Hey, listen I-"

"You idiot.' Krulcifer whispered. "Why did you do so much for me after everything I've done to you?"

"What you've done to me?" Ragna raised an eyebrow.

"I used you!" she shouted, tears streaming down her face again. "I used you for my own means. I dragged you into my issues and discarded you once I was done with you! So why? Why did you put yourself through this?!"

All around him, everyone waited for Ragna to respond. Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Ragna placed two fingers under Krulcifer's chin.

"Geez. The Krulcifer I knew wouldn't be hung over something as stupid as this." Ragna gave her a kind smile. "She would know that my reckless, stupid ass would do this sort of thing just because of how I am. So go back to the Krulcifer we all know and keep your head up, alright?"

"But-"

"Kulcifer, I told you didn't I? I couldn't care less about what you think of me." Ragna siad as he looked around him, every member of the Knight Squadron was smiling. "At the end of the day, you're important to me… no, to all of us."

Around them, everyone gave a nod and began to move in closer. Before he knew it, Ragna was trapped in the middle of a massive group hug, much to his irritation. In the center, Krulcifer stared at the group before giving a soft smile as she too embraced everyone. After a solid minute of being packed between various people, everyone spread back out.

"So feeling better?" Lisesharte asked confidently.

"A lot, thank you everyone." Krulcifer beamed towards the group as she wiped her tears away. "I'm back."

Ragna gave a nod and chuckled to himself. The past few days were absolute hell and today was arguable worst but in the end, their friend came home.

"Still though," Shalice interrupted, "it feels like wasted effort that we came here for a wedding only to see Ragna almost kick the bucket and watch a noble get arrested.'

"Still would've preferred that over a wedding service." Ragna snorted only for Shalice to stick her tongue out at him.

"I have an idea!" Tilfurr shouted from the back. "You may now kiss the bride!"

"Like hell-" Ragna grumbled as he rolled his eyes only for his sentence to be cut short as Krulcifer lunge forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her lps against his. The two stayed like that for only a few moments before Krulcifer pulled back. Ragna remained wide-eyed the entire time, of course.

"U-um… that was…" Ragna stuttered as he tried to find his words. Krulcifer didn't say anything and gave him an embarrassed look.

From behind them, Ragna could feel a massive amount of anger, as if it was almost tangible. When he glanced behind him, he saw Lisesharte gripping his Sword Device so hard that her knuckles were white. Her expression matched the one she had during the bathhouse incident.

"You… two!"

"Shit, we gotta go!" Ragna yelped as he swept Krulcifer off of her feet and carried her with him as he took off in a dead sprint towards the academy. At first, Krulcifer was screaming but it quickly transitioned from laughter and then to silence. Completely exhausted from the day, she rested her head against Ragna's chest as he ran. Placing a hand on his chest, she smiled to herself as she closed her eyes and listened to his steady heartbeat.

 _Thank you, Ragna._


	9. A New Day, Another Threat

"So that should sum up all the details." Alterize said calmly as she stuffed a small notebook into her jacket pocket. "If you'll excuse me, I shall go finalize the details."

Standing up from the cafe table, the servant left to go elsewhere leaving Ragna and Krulcifer in each other's company. Krulcifer was quietly humming to herself with a small smile on her face while Ragna had is face buried in his palms, stuck in a state of disbelief.

"Cheer up a little bit, alright?" the girl said in a teasing manner as she gently squeezed the boy's shoulder. "Your gloomy attitude will disturb the others."

"That's what you're worried about?!" Ragna shouted as he slammed his hands against the table. The people arounds them shot their gazes towards him causing Ragna to slowly sink back next to Krulcifer.

It was mid-morning and Ragna and Krulcifer were sitting next to each other at a small cafe in town. Having received a message a couple of days after the wedding had set them up to meet with the Einfolk butler to discuss some 'pressing matters'. Much to Ragna's dismay however both of them had to dress nicely, prompting him to put the suit made for him to use.

"You still need to work on your manners around nobles." Krulcifer said flatly, slightly rolling her eyes but still smiling as she retracted her arm. "You will be around them much more often."

"And that's the part I still don't understand." he grumbled before taking a long sip of coffee. "How and why I ended up in this situation."

"The results of the duel speak for themselves." returning from her short leave, Alterize sat back down across the two. "With Lord Kruetzer's loss, the Einfolk have recognized your ability and have deemed you worthy of marrying into the family."

"Okay, I understand that much." Ragna could feel his brow twitching as he spoke. "What I don't get is the part where I accepted."

"Calm down a little bit." Krulcifer cut in in with her usual whimsical tone. "It's not like anything is going to happen soon."

"And THAT is the problem." Ragna retorted. "I couldn't give a shit less if nothing happens today, tomorrow or a year from now! What I'm concerned about is that no one exactly asked for my input on the subject."

"Regardless, what the young mistress said is true so there is no need for concern Mr. Kisaragi. I have already discussed the details with the head of the Einfolk and the patriarch gave you his blessing." Alterize said, effectively cutting the boy off. "However, since both of you are still attending academy, you shall have to settle for being engaged for the time being."

"Engaged, huh?" completely drained of energy Ragna just slumped back in his seat, hoping he'd wake up from this nightmare soon.

"I do believe that should wrap things up." Alterize stood up one final time and bowed. Krulcifer said her farewells and saw the servant off, leaving the two alone. Turning towards Ragna, Krulcifer gave him an endearing and all the while teasing smile.

"I do look forward to what is in store for both of us… my fiance."

* * *

Ragna gave no verbal response as he rested his head on the table. The quiet atmosphere all but ruined by his own silent scream.

"How did I let things get to this point?" Ragna groaned as he was sucked back into the present.

It was well past night time and Ragna found himself letting off steam from the events from earlier. Absentmindedly, Ragna unclipped his Sword Device only for him to let out an irritated growl. The blade in his hand began to seep an all too familiar shadowy mist.

Ever since the duel, Orochi's actions seemed to feel much more powerful, destructive even. Had it been anyone else, they would've been ecstatic at the growth but Ragna knew that familiar feeling of unchecked power and given Hazama's warning, it terrified him.

Black. Beast.

The two words sent a cold sweat down the Reaper's spine as they echoed as if he had just relived the dream. Shaking his head, Ragna took a deep breath to focus on the path ahead of him, only to realize that he had fallen off the path and was wandering aimlessly. He felt his brow twitch with annoyance and scanned the area to find any sign that would allow him to get back on the right path.

It was only a glimpse but from the corner of his eye, Ragna spotted a cloaked figure wearing a large-brimmed hat carefully observing him as he strode along the path. The hat's wide brim masked the person's face but he knew without a doubt that they had their eyes on him for a while.

Without turning his head, Ragna gripped the hilt of his sword and threw it towards the figure only for it to get lodged in a nearby tree as the figure dodged and took off into the foods. Without a moment's hesitation, Ragna retrieved the weapon and pursued the shady individual. After a few minutes of chase, the person in question finally stopped. Back on the path beneath a street lamp only feet from the gate, Ragna followed close behind.

"Hey you in the hat! The hell's a shady basta-" Ragna shouted but sidestepped as a knife shot past him, grazing his shoulder and creating a shallow gash.

Instinctively reaching for his sword, Ragna stopped as he remembered earlier with the seithr-like aura that had emanated from his blade. With a click of his tongue he raised his fists.

 _Brimmed hat? Dark clothing? Knives? Affinity for pissing me off?_

"So tell me," Ragna spoke in a raised voice, trying to stall for time and hopefully get someone's attention. "If I take your hat off, will your hair slick back and you'll start stomping on me?"

The figure remained silent but he could tell that they were in a hurry. After a few tense moments, the cloaked figure made a run for it but not towards the gate. An arm, barely visible under the cover of night, shot out from beneath the cloak with knife in hand. The light reflecting off of the short blade was all Ragna needed to track the weapon. Keeping his sword sheathed, he brought the sheath up and parried the blow. As the cold steel struck the sheath purple mist slipped out and lunged towards the aggressor who retreated backwards.

"Oh no you don't!" Ragna shouted as he shot forward with a balled fist.

With finesse and incredible speed, the dark shape ducked beneath the low-aimed blow as they got behind the boy. As they got behind him, they took aim at the back of his knee and delivered a quick, precise yet crushing blow that forced Ragna onto his other. Despite the lack of light Ragna could've sworn that be could catch a glimpse of a pair of malicious maroon eyes.

Whirling around as they got behind Ragna, a lone hand raised up with knife in hand. As the arm shot downwards at the back of their opponent's exposed neck, another much longer and thinner blade knocked the knife away from the shadowy figure. A rapier blade.

"I leave for a few weeks and scoundrels like this are running around." an elegant, female voice said. While calm, the girl's voice was obviously peeved and all-together unfamiliar.

Ragna shot away from his opponent and got to his feet. With a growl and without a thought, he unsheathed his blade letting the dark aura unfurl before him. The unarmed assailant glanced first at Ragna and then towards his savior. With unfavorable odds, the hatted individual dashed through the gate and into the night not bothering to pick up the knives they left. Ragna's foot left the ground as he propelled himself forward only to be stopped as a hand raised in front of him by the one who came to his rescue.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ragna growled. "You're just gonna let someone like that go?"

"And were you going to take on armed threats on your own?" the girl scolded, crossing her arms as she looked down on him. "Amateurs like you aren't equipped to handle situations like this. You had a blade on you but you didn't draw it? Pride cometh before the fall, as they say."

"Amateur? Pride, huh?" Ragna could feel his anger rising but the girl simply dismissed him. "I would've been fine with or without your help."

"That's what everyone says before they find themselves in over their heads." the girl said sourly as she walked over the knife laying on the ground. The way she carried herself was noble and dignified as she seemingly glided over to her destination. "The weak should stay out of matters they can't handle."

As she got closer to the light Ragna could make out the woman's features. Dressed in the school's uniform, her frame was much more mature and she stood a few inches taller than Ragna. Her long, pale blonde hair that fell past her shoulders and flowed behind her gracefully as she moved. Her focused sky blue eyes were alert as she scanned the surrounding area for any remaining threats.

Ragna eyed her as she knelt down to pick up the knife. Keeping a close eye on the weapon, he noticed that the handle of the knife was one solid mass and not the usual butterfly knives he'd become all too well acquainted with.

"Tell me." the girl spoke, eyes still laser focused on the knife. "What is a man like you doing here at an all girls school? As far as I'm concerned, you are just as suspect as he was."

"Yeah, sure. I'm in cahoots with someone that tried to rip out my throat." Ragna snorted. "Besides, I _attend_ school here."

"Blatant sarcasm won't serve you well here." the student scoffed in a holier-than-thou tone. "This school has been created specifically for women. There's no reason for you to be here, especially at this time at night."

The girl stared daggers into Ragna who was more than annoyed at this point. With a dismissive shake of the head, Ragna turned around to walk down the path he'd come from.

"Look, I don't have the energy to deal with this shit." Ragna groaned. "If you don't believe me, take it up with administration."

"Hmph." crossing her arms, the girl stood up with knife held delicately. "Very well, I shall see to this matter personally but first, I am entrusting this piece of hardware to you. Just don't make me regret leaving it in your less than capable hands."

Glancing over his shoulder, Ragna saw the girl holding out the attacker's knife. With slight reluctance, Ragna opened his palm as the weapon gently fell into his open hand.

"You've made it plenty clear that you don't trust me." Ragna said with cautious hostility. "Why trust me with this thing now?"

"The only reason I intervened was because I was running night patrol under unsettling rumors of a stalker on campus." she said adversely. "It seems that the rumors were true. And as the leader of the Knight Squadron, it's my duty to see to it personally regardless of facts or rumors. Other than that, I need an alibi for tonight's events"

"Uh huh." Ragna said in an skeptical voice. "So you mentioned that you were the leader of the Knights? Can I at least get a name?"

"How crude." crossing her arms, the older girl glared at him. "To ask for a lady's name but refuse to give your own first?"

"Fine." Ragna said begrudgingly. "Ragna Kisaragi. There."

"Celistia. Celistia Ralgris." Celistia broke off from their little staring contest as she began to walk the other way. "This isn't the last you'll hear from me. Return from whence you came. I don't need you stirring up any more trouble tonight _Kisaragi_."

The bitterness in her voice was enough to make Ragna cringe but he soon began down the path in the opposite direction, of course, as the leader of the Knights vanished into the night. Idly twirling the knife between his fingers as he made his way back to the dorms, Ragna reviewed what he had learned from the recent encounter.

 _Celistia Ralgris… was it? The hell was her problem? Just because she's the leader of the Knight Squadron doesn't give you permission to have the world's biggest stick up your ass. Wait… where he I heard that name before? Hold on… oh shit._

* * *

After a long, revelation filled walk Ragna had finally made his way back towards the dormitory. Planning full well to head back to his room and sleep, he hurried down the main hallway. As he was walking however, he noticed a pink haired figure collapsed on the ground in the middle of the hallways off to the right. Remembering the enigma from earlier, he wasted no time as he ran to the fallen person's side.

It was Philphie of all people slumped over unconscious in the middle of the passage. After inspecting her for wounds, he could see her chest rise and fall as she breathed steadily. Letting out a sigh of relief, Ragna glanced around. She was a bit far from any of the student living spaces but she was still dressed in her uniform. Gripping his forehead in disbelief, Ragna reached out with his right arm to shake her shoulder in an effort to wake her but as he made contact a dark yet invisible force stabbed at his palm.

Recoiling, Ragna stared at the point of contact: the girl's shoulder. Everything was completely normal and Philphie slept undisturbed as if nothing had happened. Staring at his hand, Ragna couldn't shake the lingering sensation. He had felt it before, it was horrifyingly similar to the aura that high-ranking Abyss emitted. Returning his gaze to his unconscious classmate, Ragna snapped out of his trance. As much as he wanted answers he wouldn't be able to get them from someone who wasn't even awake. It would have to wait until morning and that meant getting Philphie to a place were she could actual sleep. He considered lending her his room for the night but quickly shot down the idea. It would only lead to unneeded trouble. Remembering some couches in the lobby, Ragna opted for that idea instead.

"Sorry about this Phi" Ragna said in a hushed voice. Scooping the sleeping girl in his arms, his right was immediately set ablaze upon contact. Silently cursing under his breath, Ragna made his way towards the lobby.

"Lu…"

"Hm?"

"Don't go… Lu…"

Ragna glanced down at his classmate who was mumbling to herself, still asleep. As peaceful as Philphie's expression was, just by listening to her voice Ragna could tell she was being tormented by something. Something she lost and couldn't let go of.

"You and me both kid." the Reaper said with a melancholy yet sympathetic smile.

Setting her down on one of the long couches in the lobby, Ragna took off his uniform's jacket and placed it over top of Philphie. It wasn't much but it would at least keep his classmate a bit warmer.

"As much as I would like to say my job here is finished, it would be a dick move to leave Phi on her lonesome." the boy said in a barely audible tone. "Don't you think, headmaster?"

With a sigh, Relie slowly moved out from behind the door frame she'd been hiding behind. She seemed neither surprised or irritated at the student's callout but was replaced by a new expression that scared him: concern.

"Mind telling me why you were trailing us?"

"First off, that's my sister you were making off with." the headmaster said as her expression lightened. "To be honest, I've been looking for her for some time, no one had seen or heard from Philphie since two hours ago"

"I found her in the middle of the hallway." Ragna said flatly. "I'm surprised that no one found her sooner."

"Of course they wouldn't have." a small smirk began to form on Relie's face. "That'd be called breaking curfew, _Kisaragi_."

Walking closer, she gave Ragna a bit of a slap on the shoulder. With a roll of his eyes and a self-satisfied giggle, Relie sat next to her unconscious younger sister with whatever room was left on the couch. Motioning over to a seat across from her, Ragna reluctantly took it.

"That brings me to my next concern." Relie began as she leaned in closer. "While searching for my sister, I ran into Celistia Ralgris."

Grimacing at the mention, Ragna said nothing but continued listening.

"She informed me of the little encounter you two had." Ragna didn't react but pulled out the assassin's dagger that had been used against him and offered it to Relie. "Oh? This is?"

"The bastard that infiltrated campus had it." showing clear distaste for his wording, Relie allowed the Reaper to continue. "For whatever reason, that Celistia chick entrusted it to me but I think you could make more use of this than I could."

Taking the blade in her hands, Relie studied it for a few moments. With a shake of her head, she placed the blade in her lap, Placing her face in her pams, the headmaster let out a frustrated groan. Ragna could only watch on as is was almost impossible to read the women's face.

"A mysterious assailant is just what I needed right now." Relie said in frustration.

"Right now? You don't seem like the busy type."

With a scowl, Relie glanced at the blonde haired youth but her expression and composure became serious, much more serious than Ragna would've wanted at that time of night.

"Remember that conversation between you and Lord Kruetzer during your duel?" she said steadily. "About Ragnarok?"

The Reaper vaguely remembered but nodded anyways.

"Just how serious were you about that?"

* * *

Ragna grumbled something incomprehensible as he felt a poking at his cheek. Opening one eye, he was nearly blinded by the sunlight peaking through the window. In his peripheral he could see that Krulcifer and Lisesharte were staring at him, the former close to his face and the latter appearing a bit worried.

"Finally awake, huh?" the silver haired girl joked as she retracted her hand from Ragna's face. "Class was dismissed twenty minutes ago."

Shooting up, Ragna's gaze darted to each corner of the classroom. She was right, the room was completely vacant save for the three of them.

"Seriously, you're lucky that you sit near the back of the classroom. If Eldrich found out, you'd get your ear chewed out.. again." the princess interjected with an exasperated voice. "You really need to work on your sleep schedule."

"It's not my fault." Ragna said defensively as he got a few loud pops out of his neck "Some shit came up last night and by the time everything wrapped up there wasn't even a point in trying to sleep."

Both girls raised their eyebrows but Ragna waved them off. He'd eventually get around to telling them but it was a story for another time. Besides, he didn't want to go around spreading fires just yet even if those two were his closest friends at the moment.

"I'm starving." stretching, Ragna shoved his notes into his textbook and lifted it under his armpit. "You guys grab anything yet?"

Both of them shook their heads before Krulcifer lunged for Ragna's arm and linked his with hers, leaving Lisesharte both flustered and angry.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Ragna yelped in surprise as he tried to shake her loose.

"Hm?" Krulcifer gave him an innocent gaze but not even her gaze could hide her mischievous smile. "It's only natural. Besides, this will be our first meal together as an engaged couple won't it?"

Ragna's face flushed as he slowly turned to the princess who had been lagging behind in terms of the news. He forgot to tell her or complain to her, rather. Lisesharte on the other hand gave off the same energy she did during the bathhouse incident.

 _Shit._

Just as the princess was about to jump on him, another blonde haired student interrupted them. With a rough grunt, the three second-year students turned towards the doorway to see Ragna's personal nightmare glaring at him.

"So you weren't joking last night. How unpleasant." Celistia Ralgris began walking towards the group as Ragna shot her a sour glare.

"If I'm so _unpleasant_ ," shaking his companions off of him, Ragna walked to meet the older girl, "why waste time to try and find me?"

The words rolled off his like venom, each syllable emphasized like a razor blade. Even with the distance, both the princess and the Einfolk daughter could feel the sparks coming from the glare the two held as they approached each other With a sigh of annoyance, Celistia broke off from their competition.

"Come with me, Ragna Kisaragi. The headmaster has requested you." she said roughly as she crossed her arms and turned, back to him. "I was guided here by a friend by the way. As you said, I wouldn't even dream of wasting the time to actively seek you out."

"Her again?" Ragna grumbled quietly. "Spent the better half of the night chatting with her. The hell could she want now?"

Motioning up towards the doorway, another student stood there waiting for them. Quickening her pace, she met the girl that Ragna had recognized as Saniya who he had an encounter with at his enrollment celebration. The two older girls engaged in banter but Ragna recoiled as he realized that her demeaning voice and hostile mannerisms had vanished. For the first time, Ragna was hearing his upperclassmen hold a normal conversation. He couldn't help but be off put by her suddenly cheery demeanor. Ragna, doing his best to diffuse tension, gave the newcomer a nod of acknowledgement only for her to glare at him in disgust.

 _Well that was a bust. The hell do I even bother?_

Both Celistia and Saniya filed out of the room with Ragna following shortly after. Being subconscious about their apparent disdain of him, Ragna left enough room between them to where he hoped that they wouldn't wring his neck. Next to him, both Lisharte and Krulcifer had stepped in line with him, much to his annoyance.

"And why exactly did you two decide to follow me?" Ragna said bitterly. Heads began to turn as they watched the group parade down the hallway. "I already have them breathing down my neck and the last thing I need is you two causing me trouble."

"It's not every day that the infamous man-hater would confront a boy." Krulcifer said smuggly as a small smile formed one her lips. "Much less someone as brutish as you"

Before Ragna could bark back, Lisesharte cut in in agreeance.

"I am curious to see for myself," she began before glaning almost nervously at the two girls ahead of them, "but I'm willing to guess that this has to do with the Knight Squadron."

"Shit." flatly spoken, Ragna placed a hand on his forehead, "I hadn't even thought about that. Great, just another damn thing to shove on to my plate."

"Oh, cheer up will you?" Krulcifer chimed, mischeivious personality not fading. "You have the both of us to back you up."

The Reaper made a grimace but was interrupted, yet again, by a playful jab to the gut by his blonde classmate.

"Don't be like that." Lisesharte said, doing her best to sound encouraging. "Look, after this little meeting with the headmaster why don't we go into town and grab something to eat?"

Ragna nodded in agreeance, however reluctant. Krulcifer seized the opportunity when Ragna's guard was down and latched onto his arm. Lisesharte gave the two a look of protest as Ragna's cheeks lit up.

"We'd love to join!" the silver head exclaimed loudly, garnering the attention of the surrounding students. Even Celistia and Saniya glanced back at them, much to his irritation. Ragna motioned for them to turn around which they obliged by some miracle.

 _I don't think they'll let me live that one down…_

Finally, the group of five reached the all-too familiar doors to the headmasters office. Opening the door for them, the leader of the Knight Squadron motioned for Ragna and the others to enter. As they did, Relie awaited them patiently at her desk with three chairs set facing towards her.

"Sorry, if I'd known you brought a mob with you, I would have made better arrangements" Relie said as she offered the seats to the group.

"I will be taking my leave actually." Saniya said abruptly. "I have some business with a family friend I need to attend to. I'll catch up with you later Celes."

The older blonde nodded and sent her friend off with a small smile before returning her gaze to the front of the room. Glancing at Ragna and then the chair, Celistia offered it to the youth only for him to decline the offer and opt to lean against the large library of books that made up the right side of the room. Silence enveloped the room as no one dared speak for the first few moments."

…

"So how's your sister?"

Celistia's jaw nearly hit the ground at the sudden blunt and equally as rude question. Lisesharte buried her face in her hands and Krulcifer giggled, if only slightly. The upperclassmen was about to snap back at the boy before shifting her gaze to the headmaster who rolled her eyes and waved off the comment.

"If your referring to last night, Philphie is fine." Relie said flatly, showing neither anger or annoyance even if she harbored both. "I told her to spend the day recovering."

"What happened?" concerned, Lisesharte quickly intervened. "I didn't see her in class today.:

"I found her collapsed in the middle of the hallway." Ragna said bluntly, shoving both hands in his pockets of the uniform. "Basically got her out of the way so she wouldn't be trampled in the morning."

"I see." with a sigh of relief, Lisesharte allowed herself to relax a bit. "Thanks for the help again, Ragna."

"Don't mention it."

"Ahem." Celistia coughed sharply. "I'm glad to hear Philphie is well headmaster but there are other pressing matters to attend to, correct? You wouldn't have called us here otherwise."

"Of course," getting up from her desk, Relie began pacing as if trying to calm her nerves. "While I originally wanted to keep this between you and Ragna I think it's actually beneficial that both Krulcifer and Lisesharte are here."

Taking a deep breath, Relie steeled herself as she brought out a letter from beneath her desk and placed both hands over it as she cleared her throat.

"I have just gotten reports that the Abyss known as Ragnarok has begun to stir." everyone besides Ragna let out a small gasp. "This letter is requesting aid from the Knight Squadron to help in suppressing the threat before it gets out of hand."

"Shouldn't the military be taking action from something like this?" Celistia asked, the alarm in her voice was as clear as day. "Why ask pilots in training, students no less?"

"It's a request for aid, it's not asking us to take over the whole damn operation." adding gruffly from his side of the room, the blonde haired boy seemed bored.

"Ragna's right." Lisesharte said before her senior could react. Her face became much more grave. "I've been told that a majority of the kingdom's forces are busy dealing with skirmishes along the borders with remnants of the Old Empire."

"So you understand the situation then?" Relie said, a majority of the students gave a nod (most referring to everyone other than Ragna who was staring to nod off). "Good, I'll address the rest of the Squadron when we have more details but I felt that informing our strongest Knights would you guys plan ahead."

"And that's what I do not understand!" springing up from her seat, Celistia slammed her hands against the headmaster's desk before heeling a free hand around to point at Ragna. "I refuse to believe that barbarian has the skills to make it into this academy, much less the Knight Squadron!"

Ragna felt his lip twitch as he cracked open one eye. He took a deep breath in an effort to keep his temper on simmer.

"Look, I don't give a damn about whatever problem you have with me." Ragna said forcefully, propping himself up, he approached the blonde knight who turned to meet him. "Don't like me being here? Tough shi-"

A sudden, sharp pain racked Ragna's right cheek. The lingering sting caused the point of contact to throb. Celistia's arm had shot out and it remained diagonal to the younger student's face, palm flat and fingers loose. Even still, the two didn't break eye contact. Off to the side Krulcifer had to restrain Lisesharte from retaliating on her friend's behalf.

"Of course I don't like you being here. I completely detest it, actually." still holding the glare, she returned her arm to her side. "Headmaster, you allowed the princess to request a duel correct?"

"That would be correct." the pink hair woman said as she watched the events unfold. "However, right now is not the time so please put it on hold."

"I refuse." turning to Relie, Celistia lost the malice but retained her intensity. "My game is simple: I want Ragna Kisaragi out. If I win, he is removed from the academy. If he somehow manages to win, he gets to stay."

"This mission is too important for infighting, Celistia Ralgiris! I will not per-"

"I'm game."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Ragna said viciously. "I'm game. I can't seem to convince you otherwise so kicking your ass works fine for me. Time and place, I'm there."

"Knock it off you two!" Relie demanded but things were already too far off the deep end, for once she was helpless to stop the two.

"If that's the case, if you want to get to Ragna you have to get through me first." Lisesharte said as she stood, challenging the older girl. "Ragna has helped us more than you could know and I won't stand by see my friend get kicked out."

"Very well." Celistia didn't seem to mind but met the princess' intense gaze all the same. "You seem to be much more confident since we last talked. Just remember that I'm the true leader of the Knight, you were only standing in during my absence."

"Since our princess is allowed to fight for Ragna, I will as well. It seems unfair to request his leave as soon as you return. " Krulcifer straightened her posture, looking down her face began to get a bit warm. "Besides, I need to return a favour."

Ragna's face began to grow warm as well as he suddenly became extremely interested in the ceiling tiles

"Unbelievable…" with a groan she faced Ragna once more. "Very well, I accept but don't you think for an instant that you have a prayer of besting me."

"I gave up on praying long ago." Ragna said, returning the girl's malicious stare. "I do things my own way."

"The duel is fine ehr… duels, rather, are fine," Relie said, defeated. "But they will have to wait until after Ragnarok is defeated. That much is non negotiable, do I make myself clear?"

The four nodded.

"Very well…" Relie said with a sigh. "Dismissed."

* * *

As night came once more, as it always does, Ragna found himself on his way to Lisesharte's shop to get Orochi checked up. Having changed out of his uniform, the boy was wearing the clothes he found himself in upon arrival. Lunch had been… interesting. The three went into town, found a restaurant, nearly got kicked out and Ragna had to pay as per tradition. While he did have some fun, he couldn't get something off of his shoulders.

The idea of the ladder-style tournament had been looming in the back of his head for the entire rest of the day. Figuring he could use some fresh air to clear his head anyway, Ragna began to tread the path he had walked too many times now just as the sun was about to vanish beneath the horizon. With the threat of a potential second Black Beast always in the back of his mind as well, he thought it wouldn't hurt to get the thing checked out. And while he did hate the leader of the Squadron, it was more along the lines of a psycho-Jin-style-hate and not a Terumi-kind-of-hate. No need for someone to get seriously injured just because someone had their cereal pissed in.

Lost in thought, Ragna almost missed the target of his ire as she too was out walking as well. Almost.

"Another night patrol?" Ragna muttered. "Chick's dedicated, I'll give her that much- gah! Shit!"

Having lost his footing during his monologue, the Reaper tripped but regained his footing but not before he had drawn some unwanted attention. Shooting her gaze in the direction of the disturbance, had on her weapon, Celistia's expression turned sour as she saw the familiar face. With a sigh of irritation, she glanced towards him. Having gained eye contact with the blonde haired Reaper, she motioned for him to follow her which he did so hesitantly.

For minutes the two went on without saying a word to each other. It could have been the humid evening but something stuck in the air that made the whole experience incredibly uncomfortable for the both of them. Even as they strayed further into the woods, Ragna remained quiet. Eventually they were going in the opposite direction of the workshop and even off the tone paths. Trudging through the forest, the chirping of crickets filled the silence as they reached an open area of the woods. The clearing was flat and spacious. Leading him to the center of the field, Celistia placed her hand one hand on her Sword Device, a rapier of sorts, and drew it.

 _So that's what this was about. Should've figured._

Without a word, Ragna drew his blade as well but let it fall to his side. He let out a low growl. This had to be a joke right? Did this chick really have it out for him as much as this?

"Hey." Ragna shouted across the field with a surprisingly neutral tone. "Don't tell me that you were only out here so you could try and take a swing at me."

"Of course not." the blonde woman admitted. "I had been told by Saniya that there were rumors of other intruders on campus. I just so happened to run into you and thought it would be best for both of us to get this off of our chests."

 _At least we can see eye to eye on something._

"You know, you're just wasting time right?" Ragna said gruffly, he wanted to settle the score but even he wasn't a complete fool. "Why bother with this on the off chance of those rumors being true?"

"Not to worry." his opponent said matter-of-factly. "I'll end this quickly. Besides, this'll be the last time I drag others into my problems."

Ragna raised an eyebrow but didn't have time to ask as a blinding light illuminated from her side of the field, bathing the surrounding vegetation in luminance. Removing his hand from in front of him, Ragna got a look of what he was up against.

The girls' machine had a slim yet very ornate frame decorated in white and gold with highlights of black and blue. Two large, floating metal plates guarded the machine's shoulders. Jagged points jutted out of the joints but it didn't seem brutish but somehow elegant. The main weapon of the machine was a large lance.

Ragna paused to think of a strategy. Despite the decorative machine, nothing seemed out of the ordinary about it. Deciding to just roll with the punches as he went Ragna dismissed his thoughts before they drowned him.

"What's wrong? Getting cold feet now are we?"

"You wish, let's do this!" Ragna roared as he drew his Sword Device skyward. "Orochi! Connect on!"

A vortex of darkness surrounded him as Orochi roared to life as it dispelled the shadowy maelstrom with a flick of it's massive sheet of a blade. Having seen the Drag-Ride for the first time, Celistia immediately recognized the blood red machine as the one belonging to the rumored Grim Reaper. Gone was his blonde hair, which was now platinum and his right eye glowed red under the cover of dusk. Shaking her head in disbelief, something else caught her attention; the atmosphere seemed much more sinister.

 _This seems dangerous. I must be diligent and end this quickly._

(cue Fate/Zero OST - This Battle Is to the Strong)

"Divine Gate."

"Divine Gate?" Ragna raised an eyebrow as he readied his sword. "What the hell kind of starting quote is tha-"

Dodging out of the way not a second too soon, Ragna barely dodged the tip of a massive lance as it skidded off of his Drag-Ride's barrier. The blow was aimed precisely at his back, center of mass. Having been too caught up in his own monologuing Ragna hadn't noticed his opponent disappear, only feeling the rush of wind as Celistia appeared behind him.

"What the hell?!" Ragna shouted as he wheeled around to see the girl's disappointed face. "That could've killed me."

"You are mistaken, Kisaragi." his opponent said emotionlessly. "That strike would've rendered your machine useless. It would've been a quick, flawless victory.'

"Like hell I'd give you the satisfaction!" Ragna yelled as his machine surged forward, sword ready.

As he swung, just like he expected, Celistia disappeared once more. Glancing behind him quickly, Ragna saw nothing only for his eyes to widen as he saw the threat coming not from behind him but from in front of him. Raising his blade, Ragna successful parried a flurry of blows. He couldn't help but be taken back by the speed, force and placement of each thrust. Given the size of his weapon, he was having a difficult time keeping up. In a move of desperation, Ragna wheeled back and unfolded his weapon into its scythe form and swung in a large arc. Using the metal plate on the flanks of her machine dragon, Celistia blocked the swing. While managed to block it, it was a powerful blow and it sent her back a few meters thus giving both combatants room to breathe.

"It seems I must apologize." Celistia said as she eased up her posture. "It seems that I underestimated your combat ability, Kisaragi. The rumors don't seem to do your abilities justice but even so, I'm ending this here."

Ragna made no reply, only grunting as he readied the over-sized Blood-Scythe for their next exchange.

Bursting forward, Celistia took initiative once more but making a wide left. Snorting in annoyance, Ragna took a defensive position to anticipate the teleport. As soon as she was within range of his sword, she vanished. Ragna swung but not at her but in a wide arc, the sweep covered his flanks and his back. Horror crept up on him as he felt his blade make contact with nothing.

 _A feint?!_

A glint of silver appeared on the same side she vanished, causing Ragna's blood to go cold as an arrow shaped blur lunged forward. Using the miniscule window of time allotted to him, Ragna's free arm shot out and caught the spear's head. Mere centimeters from his chest, both fighters breaths' caught in the heat of the moment. Given a second to breath, Ragna's hardened expression morphed into a vicious smirk.

Throwing the lance's head toward the ground, he stabbed forwards. The strike missed as Celistia shot backwards. The break was short lived as she began rushing in for another strike. As if on cue, the commander of the Knights vanished as she got into Ragna's striking range. Appearing behind him she thrust her weapon forward, aiming for her opponent's dominant arm.

The blow connected but... not with what she was hoping for. The flat of Ragna's oversized sword dug into the ground, acting as an oversized shield to stop the thrust. Ragna didn't even bother turning around, only glaring at her over his shoulder.

"You were right." Ragna said flatly. "You should've ended this with your first strike. I can see right through you now."

Deflecting the lance off of his own blade, the two of them exchanged a quick series of strikes. Improvising, Ragna tried following up each parried strike with a modified Quick Daw before parrying another. Seeing as it was working well enough for him, Ragna was beginning to adjust to the speed of Celistia's strikes. All he needed to do was find an opportunity where he could begin an offensive after that, the match was as good as his.

Thrusting forward in close proximity, Celistia vanished mid-attack as soon as Ragna tried to retaliate. Despite this, Ragna raised his Drag-Ride's right arm high above him. A massive amount of dark energy welled up in the machine's clenched fist as he brought it downwards.

Terror overcame Ragna as he realized that the energy was flowing freely and out of his control. Even as he tried to stop himself he couldn't as the fist made contact with the ground, sending columns of dark energy in every direction.

(end theme)

The blast hit Celistia just as she reappeared to strike but was hit by a wall of darkness. As the wave of energy came into contact with her, millions of thoughts not her own flooded the girl's mind. A seemingly endless stream of images played in her mind almost simultaneously. Alien pictures of towns on fire, mountains of blue uniformed soldiers massacred and a titanic, multi-headed, jet black demon racked the noble woman's mind. Strangely enough, the last thing that hit her in the one second timeframe the wave lasted was the unbearable weight of a crushing sadness. The shock wave knocked her back, destroying her barrier and forcing her out of her machine. Now on her knees, Celistia fought the urge to vomit.

A loud, pained scream ripped her from her she looked across the way from her to find Ragna on the ground, out of his Drag-Ride as well, doubled over in pain. The same dark energy he had attacked her with was now swarming the boy as it emanated from his right arm Against her better judgement, Celistia ran to his side in an effort to help.

"Hey! What's happening?" kneeling next to him, she tried to touch his shoulder to get him to focus on her.

"Stay away from me!" Ragna ordered as he turned to her, eyes wide with fear. "This can't be happening, god dammit! Not yet!"

His right eye was glowing even more intensely and his hair was now partially blonde, clashing with the platinum. The energy surrounding him was starting to take shape, almost swallowing Ragna. Just as it tried to reach out and envelope Celistia as well, Ragna reached for his Sword Device and stabbed the blade into his right arm as a last ditch effort.

"Just stop this shit already!" he shouted as the the blade drew blood.

For reasons beyond Celistia's understanding, the shadowy aura retreated into his blade. As soon as the sinister energy disappeared, Ragna reverted back to his regular appearance, blonde hair and all. Pale faced, panting heavily and bleeding, the boy got on to one knee and looked over to his senior. An awkward but small smile plastered his face as he scratched the back of his head using his unwounded arm.

"Sorry you had to see that."

"Are you alright?!" rushing over and seemingly forgetting about the threat, Celistia inspected the wound. The Reaper flinched as it caught him completely off guard.

It wasn't a fatal wound but it was bleeding heavily.

"This is my fault. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't try and challenge you." she whispered to herself disdainfully.

 _I did it again, huh? Will anything change?_

"We're too far out to get a nurse. Sorry, could you look away for a second?"

"Seriously, it fine." Ragna said, feeling incredibly uncomfortable for multiple reasons. "It'll heal in a-"

Ragna's words were interrupted by the sound of tearing fabric. Ripping off the sleeve of her uniform, Celistia quickly wrapped the wound. The white cloth quickly became crimson but it was enough to stop the bleeding. With a sigh of relief the two stared at each other before Celistia scrambled away in embarrassment.

"T-that was-"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it. You helped me because you're responsible for me.." Ragna said sheepishly, not bothering to look at the flustered girl. "Seriously though, thanks."

"I-it… it was nothing." responding quickly, although still flustered, she got to her feet. "As long as you understand. Can you stand?"

"Yeah." Ragna said as he got up. He took one step before his legs gave out on him and he fell. "Or not."

Celistia felt as small smile tug at her lips as she walked over to help him. As she did, a blade aimed towards the blonde girl flew out from the treeline. With lightning reflexes, Celistia deflected the knife with her rapier. Readying her weapon, four hooded figures walked out from the mass of trees and approached her from the front, each of them holding a sword.

"Looks like Saniya's information was right." Celistia whispered quietly, backing up she knelt next to the out of commission Ragna. "Get out of here, I can cover you."

"Like hell." Ragna hissed, his vision starting to blur. "It's not like I could run even if I wanted to."

"Then you go together." another voice came from behind the two.

Ragna wasn't able to see what had happened but he saw Celistia slump forward unconscious as the enigma from the night before came into view. Dragging their captive by her arms, the hatted figure joined the other hooded people as the chatted briefly.

"'m just gonna lay here and let this shit happen? To hell with this." Ragna growled while on the verge of going unconscious himself. Ragna dragged his blade towards him, trying to reconcile with what he was about to do. "If there was ever a time to cut loose, this is it."

With their attention off of him for the moment, Ragna used whatever strength he had left to unsheathe his blade. The ever so familiar dark aura enveloped him once more. The sensation burned his entire body felt like it was on fire but considering the boost in strength it gave him, he considered it to be the lesser of the two evils.

Getting to his feet, Ragna charged the five mysterious figures as he channeled the seithr-like substance into his right arm. Creating a large, beasttial, clawed hand made of the shadowy energy Ragna lunged at the hatted individual. Strangely none of them bother to draw their weapons despite him being only an armslength away from them.

"Alright you son of a bitch!" Ragna lunged, roaring as he pulled the claw back. "You die first!"

Without warning, Ragna's world shook as a hard blow was delivered to the back of his neck. Collapsing on the ground at the hatted person's feet, Ragna managed to open his eyes to see his attacker if only for a second.

The last thing he saw before his vision went black was a pair of hetero-chromatic eyes. One blue. One violet.

A quick rap to the back of the head put him out of commission for the last time.

* * *

 **So uh... it's been a while.**

 **First off I want to simultaneously apologize and thank to anyone and everyone that is still following this story and thus putting up with my bullshit. It's been a mixture of hardcore writers block, university and an overall lack of confidence to tell an entertaining narrative.**

 **That stops here.**

 **For the most part, this'll be where I try to create original scenarios that deviate from the source material (the anime at least) so consider this a part ll of sorts. I can't promise frequent updates but I'll do my damndest to keep you guys entertained and I'll continue to post every now and again.**

 **Once again, thank you for putting up with me and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Later!**


	10. Misery Enjoys Company

"You went and Black Beasted." Hazama said cheerfully, sitting backwards in a wooden chair yet facing towards him, greeting his guest. "You screwed up. You know what you did was wrong. The question is, how are going to make things right?"

"Can it, asshole." Ragna barked. "The hell'd you even get a chair from anyways?"

"Oh please." the green haired man said with a shrug, getting up from his seat. "This place needed some decorating anyways. Besides, wanted to try something that I saw in an old movie."

 _Decorating? It's an empty white space anyways..._

"So what exactly happened out there Rags?" Hazama said as he walked past Ragna, grin as wide as ever.

"To be honest, I couldn't tell you. It was perfectly fine before this." Ragna said glumly. "I tried to use some of the energy that I had stored up from the defeated Abyss and the next thing I knew, I couldn't stop it."

"So you took the lid off and the water kept flowing?" turning around, Hazama continued pacing. "It's sort of like a carbonated drink wouldn't you say?"

"Just shut up and get to the point already."

"My point is that that shit doesn't overflow on its own, Rags." Hazama said sharply, sounding impatient for once. "A cola doesn't gush out when you open it, sure it has the potential to, but a quick shake or a nice throw against a wall'll usually do the trick."

"I think I get it." Ragna rested his chin on his fist as he thought on the words. "But why do you care? I thought you would be content with watching the world burn."

"I'm here for you, of course!" Hazama said with great enthusiasm (too much actually). "I love watching you struggle, nicely puntuated by the disgustingly sweet little love life of yours. So who's the new one? You know, the busty one? How many does that make now, hmm? Thirty five?"

Hazama began to cackle uncontrollably in an almost borderline Terumi-esque fashion which made Ragna's skin crawl. Stepping forward, he roughly grabbed Hazama by the collar as he balled his other hand into a fist.

"Shut. Your. Damn. Mouth." Ragna glared at Hazama's currently closed eyes.

"In all honesty, I like this place." Hazama said as he pulled back and delivered a spinning roundhouse kick to the side of the boy's face. "It isn't just black and white."

"Black and white?" rubbing the side of his head, Ragna could feel the throbbing despite being a dream.

"Oh, come on. You of all people should understand." Hazama said exasperatedly. "At the end of the day the Library were the good guys and big bad Bloodedge over here was the villian. Plain and simple, no questions asked. But here, it's different."

Raising both arms up, Hazama looked up towards the vacant, white sky as he reveled in the moment. Ecstasy empowering each and every one of his words.

"In this place you have the good doing morally corrupt things" the madman paused for a second. "On the other side, we have people doing the exact opposite: the corrupt doing morally good things. Just like our lovely Grim Reaper here."

"I couldn't give any less of a shit for black and white." Hazama said gleefully as he started to fade. "Things become much more entertaining when you see the world in color."

"Color, huh?" Ragna muttered as he looked down at his right arm.

Feeling the nonexistent floor give way beneath him, Ragna fell slowly as he knew all too well what came next.

* * *

Punctuated rumbling woke Ragna from his sleep, some sharp and others subtle. The soft yet steady sound of hooves striking ground accompanied the tremors. The rough feeling of a wooden floor had rendered the Reaper's body stiff. With a slight groan, he opened his eyes and expected to be greeted by blinding sunlight. Black still clouded his vision despite having sworn he had opened his eyes.

Still darkness.

As Ragna shook off the exhaustion, he began to get a better feel for the situation. Something soft was veiling his vision and it wrapped around his face tightly. Trying to remove the cloth, he went to to reach up and tear it off only to be stopped by the clinking of heavy metal.

"Who's there?" a familiar, hushed, feminine voice came from a short distance across from him.

"What the-? Celistia!?"

As he gathered his bearings further, Ragna began to remember recent events. The walk, the fight and the ambush all came rushing back to him. His weakened physical state and splitting headaches were proof that it wasn't some sort of bizarre dream. A slight groan came from him as he realized his predicament.

"I- I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry." the blonde girl said quietly. "If it wasn't for my rash decision, we wouldn't be in this situation."

For once since meeting Celistia, Ragna didn't know what to say. To his surprise, the girl's voice was wasn't showing disdain and even showed a hint of sorrow.

"Drop it." Ragna said sharply as he shifted his weight. "Can't do anything about it now. We need to focus on how we get out of here."

As if his words had been heard, the sound of the horses went silent as their transport came to a halt. A series of muffled shouts came from outside as hurried footsteps piled out of their mobile prison. A rush of cool air greeted the two blindfolded prisoners as the back door of the transport was opened. Multiple soldiers piled in and unbound the chains holding the two to the walls and roughly forced them out. Just as Ragna was about to threaten their handlers, another cloth was wrapped wrapped around the two captives' mouths to silence them as they we led away. Judging by the angry, muffled noises behind him Ragna found some relief that Celistia was going with him.

For what seemed like an eternity, the two were escorted down various twists and turns, being treated like ragdolls all the while. Every now and then, the guards would stop and exchange words with others stationed at the there but it yielded no information on their current location. Finally, the two stopped for a brief second as the sound of metal was pulled back and both Ragna and Celistia were shoved in. Forcing their backs to the cold, stone wall; their arms were forcefully raised as the clinking of metal secured them to the formation.

A dim, torch-lit dungeon lay before them as their blindfolds were torn from their eyes. The two guards, dressed in grey uniforms, stood in front of them cross-armed as if they were admiring their work. The two men smirked before stepping aside as a third person came forth.

It was a woman in her early twenties with a slim build. Her short hair was an unkempt mess of grey and her eyes were mismatched, one grey and the other a vibrant purple. A morbid smile stretched across her face as she carefully eyed Ragna.

"So this is really the Grim Reaper?" she said excitedly. Calming down, she leaned as she crossed her arms behind his head. "It's still kinda surreal that he was this easy to capture though."

"Please, Hayes." one of the guards said sternly. "Our scouts watched him fight before moving in to capture him. He is the real deal."

"So what about this one then?" the recently named Hayes said, seemingly bored as her smile evaporated, motioning over to Celistia. "Who bagged this one and why?"

"Well if reports are correct, she's a daughter of the Ralgris household." the man said. He was going to continue but Hayes wheeled around and sucker punched him, sending the man sprawling.

"Like I give a shit!" she said furiously. After taking a second to calm down, Hayes took a deep breath as she walked over to the captive girl. Placing her hand under Celistia's chin, Hayes observed the girls features as Celistia glared at her. Finishing with a sigh, Hayes stepped back.

"Most we can do is use her as a bargaining chip." Hayes said. "Maybe you guys can have some fun with her later but for now, you haven't earned that privilege."

Recovering from the blow, the man on the ground as well as the one standing behind Hayes snickered as Celistia face twisted in horror. Satisfied, Hayes returned her attention to Ragna. Strangely though, Hayes eyed the bandaged wound on Ragna's right arm. The once white cloth of the school uniform was now dyed crimson.

"You said this guy drove his own Sword Device into his arm, right?" both men nodded their heads in silence.

Hayes' morbid smile began to form once more as she approached Ragna and confiscated Sword Device. Removing the sword from its scabbard, a familiar black mist came from the blade but died down quickly. The crazed woman's' eyes danced with excitement as she drew the blade and slashed. Much to everyone's astonishment, a quick and clean slash had perfectly cut away the makeshift bandage. Even more surprising, Ragna's wound had disappeared, flesh perfectly mended. Hayes' smile peaked as she turned around excitedly, motioning for the guards to follow but not before they took Celistia's Sword Device as well.

As the iron bars were shut and locked, Hayes turned around one more time before she left.

"You should rest for now Reaper." Hayes said with a sadistic smile. "I got a lotta questions for you and I won't be taking silence."

* * *

The sound of clattering metal woke Ragna from his less than peaceful slumber. Despite waking up, he refused to open his eyes in an effort to weather out the storm. That plan was immediately shot down as freezing water was thrown on both captives, ripping them from any hopes of a decent start to their morning. A gasp came from the two as their eyes shot open as they were greeted by the trio from the night before. Hayes crossed her arms with the guards at her flanks as she looked down on them.

"You two planning on sleeping all day?" Hayes gave them a smirk as she closed the bars behind her.

"You're not getting a damn thing from me." Ragna growled as his sore body trembled from the cold. "Just pack your shit and leave."

"A shame." shrugging as her smile turned into a small frown, Hayes turned to leave before she spun and lunged forward. A blade was planted into the wall, HIS blade, was inches to the right of his head. "I told you yesterday didn't I? I'm not leaving until I have answers."

Ragna's gaze narrowed as their eyes locked. Hayes got in close as she gripped the handle of the planted sword, smiling all the while. Pulling the weapon out of the wall, both of them retained eye contact as the sword returned to its sheath and was placed at her side.

"Not even flinching, huh?" one of the guards scoffed. "That kid seems pretty confident, ma'am. Is it really worth the trouble of trying to pry information out of him?"

"Listen asshat." Hayes snapped. "In case you can't see ten feet in front of you, the Grim Reaper isn't the only one here."

Pointing her index finger to Celistia, the captive noblewoman straightened her posture and gave her captors an equally heated glare.

"While I can't agree with his mannerisms, I agree." Celistia responded as she pulled herself up. "You'd be wasting your energy if you think we'll tell you anything."

Hayes' annoyance flaired for a second but was brought down almost immediately. A warped grin crept to her face yet again as she drew Orochi's sword out of its sheath.

"Maybe we'll just skip the pleasantries then." Hayes said as her voice began to rise.

Faster than their eyes could follow Orochi's blade lunged forward but this time the blade found its mark. Ragna cried out in pain as the blade lodged itself into his right arm, further damaging his already wounded arm.

"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" Hayes said sadistically, getting right in Ragna's face as it writhed in pain. "I will be getting answers if you want to stay one piece."

"Go to hell." Ragna growled defiantly but not phasing his tormenter in the slightest.

Celistia watched in shocked silence as the event played out. Even the guards seemed a bit shaken at their superior's behaviour. Quickly taking the blade out of her prisoners arm, Hayes admired the purple haze that emanated from the sword as it quickly disappeared. Hayes motioned to the guards to take Celistia before flicking the blood onto the floor.

"Take the girl." Hayes said excitedly. "Take her elsewhere, there are plenty of empty cells but don't hurt her. I want to make this an experience we can all enjoy."

With a skittish nod from both guards they quickly unchained their other captive and shuffled off down the dimly lit corridor. Turning back to Ragna, who was panting in pain, she once more got in close and smeared the blood-stained flat of the blade on Ragna's cheek.

"Go to hell… was it?" Hayes sneered as she twirled the Sword Device in-between her fingers. "Very poor choice of words."

What ensued in the next countless number of hours was something straight out of a nightmare. The darkened halls were filled with Ragna's agonized cries. Everytime he would pass out from the pain Hayes would douse him in freezing water, yanking him back to reality so that his interrogation could continue. Getting bored with lacerating Ragna with his own weapon, Hayes decided that she should diversify her tactics and would alternate between carving up her prisoner and waterboarding him.

After Ragna's someteenth round of waterboarding, Hayes paused as if seemingly bored. Ragna remained chained to the wall, resting on both his knees. Thanks to switching in-between tactics Hayes was able to observe Ragna's healing factor. Taking a rest from her activities, Hayes flipped and empty bucket and sat down. While by no means quick, his wounds were already closing up.

"So you gonna spill or not?" Hayes said, seemingly bored all of the sudden. "This feeling from your sword, your abilities as a Drag-Knight and especially your freakish ability to recover like this. Something is _seriously_ wrong with you."

No word came from Ragna as Hayes tapped her finger impatiently.

"Oi. You'd better still be alive over there." she said as her gaze narrowed.

Hayes sat there and pondered for a moment, considering to reach for another bucket of freezing water in order to wake him up again but the sound of sputtering and coughing interrupted her thoughts. Ragna had awoken as a mixture of water and blood came from his mouth as he coughed and gasped for air.

"Glad you could make it." Hayes said, a bit more excited now.

"I ain't giving you a goddamn thing." Ragna said weakly.

"Yeah, yeah." Hayes waved dismissively. "And look where that's gotten you."

The stone floor was soaked in a mixture of water and blood. Small streaks of crimson covered the walls as the aftermath of Hayes slashing away at the boy. Ragna shivered as he tried to stand but quickly fell back to his knees. He would've fallen forwards but his chains suspended him. He attempted to steady himself to face his torturer but his violent trembling, whether it was from the pain or borderline hypothermia, stopped him from doing so. Rising from her makeshift stool, Hayes grabbed Ragna by his hair to face her. His vision was blurred but he could make out her vibrant, monochromatic eyes.

"I'll be forward with you." Hayes glared at him fiercely. "I know that you aren't human, at least not completely. I know that you have some connection with the Abyss. So… what the hell are you?"

Ragna, for once, didn't have an answer but opted to look away. Hayes seemed surprised but groaned and dropped the boy. Sheathing Orochi's blade, she gathered her hardware and opened the cellar doors. She motioned to a group of guards who were patrolling halls. Moments later they returned with an otherwise unscathed Celistia who stared wide-eyed, in horror, at the aftermath of her fellow student's questioning. Without a word she was chained to the wall next to Ragna just like before. Hayes and her escorts began to walk away but before she stepped out of the doorway she turned to face the two one last time.

"Oh! Before I forget," Hayes said in a detached manner. "you're being shipped out tomorrow Reaper."

Ragna looked up sluggishly and tried to speak but no words came out.

"We're handing you over to the capital. Best case scenario? You'll be put on trial and executed as an act of propaganda. Worse case scenario?" Hayes leaned on the bars of the cell and gave him a wolfish grin. "They're gonna make these past few hours seem like a picnic."

Once more, Ragna gave no answer and Hayes let out a self-satisfied sigh. Slamming the cellar door behind her, Hayes and the guards went down the hall. The halls were finally quiet after many hours save for Hayes' voice that got quieter and quieter who was complaining about not having the right 'toys'. Both Ragna and Celistia stood in silence as Hayes' voice finally petered out.

"What did you tell them?" cutting through the silence like a knife, Celistia turned to a seemingly broken Ragna who only gave a few pained grunts in reply.

"No… that's not what I-." her voice became suddenly somber as she shook her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be lashing out at you. Not after what you just endured."

"It's… fine." Ragna said weakly, finally finding the strength to speak. "You alright?"

"That's what I should be asking you!" she shouted. She shrank back quietly and gritted her teeth. "Seriously. You out of all people are asking that question."

"Jeez, not so loud." groaning, an exhausted Ragna let his body relax as best it could. His clothes were in tatters, not providing much in terms of warmth. "Just making sure they didn't do anything… weird to you. Besides, no need to worry about me. I've bounced back from worse."

Flashes of the church incident along with his fight with Terumi at the Altar on top of the Kagutsuchi Branch came immediately to mind. The physical pain along with the emotional pain made his torture pale in comparison.

"I'm not even talking about just that." Celistia said bitterly, tears filling her eyes. "You're going to be sent off and executed. All of this because I was selfish, my teammate has to pay for it."

"What, that?" Ragna, for the first time being around the girl, allowed himself to laugh. "I'll manage. Also, teammate?"

"W-well." Celistia seemed flustered as she tried to search for the right words to say. "I told you didn't I? I appreciated that you were looking out for everyone while I was gone. So, only for the moment, I recognize you as a Drag-Knight."

"So does that mean the deal is off?" lightheartedly joking, Ragna managed to force a smile through the burning pain surging throughout his body.

"No way." the older girl snapped but she let her expression soften for the moment. "While I'm not revoking the wager, I'm changing the conditions. I won't kick you out of the school. At worst, you'll be a custodian but I as your superior I refuse to throw you to the wolves."

"Superior, huh?" Ragna said snarkily. "We'll just have to see about that."

"Are you challenging me this time?" Celistia smirked back. "This time I'll finish the job."

"Finish the job?" Ragna burst out. "I had you on the ropes!"

The two stared at each other, shocked that they were maintaining a normal conversation. Letting the tension diffuse, it felt like Ragna could finally relax today. The two just sat in silence, appreciating that they at least had someone else to break the silence and keep them company.

"I'll take you on as many times as you want." Ragna said with a weak smile. "But first, let's focus on getting out of here."

"Agreed, on both accounts."

* * *

As night set in, Celistia fell asleep quickly albeit uncomfortably. Ragna on the other hand was still reeling from his injuries as he tried to force himself to sleep. The cold wind blowing through the dungeon tunnels did no favors for him either but he did his best to pay it little to no mind. The news of his apparent execution hung in the back of his mind nagged him but he knew he'd figure something out. Besides, it's not like Jubei trained him to fight with just a sword. As finally began to drift off, the reflection of one the torches shone in his eyes. With an irritated growl he opened them expecting to see Hayes, who would have presumably come to toture him again.

From the darkness of his prison he saw the distinctive purple and blue eyes but it wasn't Hayes staring at him. It was a girl around the age of sixteen who stared at him from beyond the steel bars of the cell. She had long black hair that fell over her face, matched by the black yukata she wore. In her hands was a futuristic black and blue katana which she had used to direct the light of one of the torches into his eye.

Ragna was about to try and wake Celistia but the enigmatic girl quickly sheathed her blade and drew a single finger to her lips, motioning for him to stay quiet. She put her hand at her side and gave the Reaper a small yet curious smile. Reaching behind her, the girl pulled out an ever-so familiar rapier: Celistia's Sword Device and slid it towards him between the cell's bars. Catching it and pulling it towards him with his feet, Ragna hid it behind him. He looked up to face the mysterious girl who currently was walking down the corridor. Whether to question her, thank her or both Ragna opened his mouth to speak. Before he could mutter a word she glanced over her shoulder. Her words sent chills down his spine:

"I look forward to seeing your growth, Ragna the Bloodedge."

With that she seemingly disappeared as her figure disappeared down the tunnel, leaving a confused and troubled Ragna alone.

"One thing after another, huh?" a physically and mentally exhausted Ragna grumbled to himself as he drifted off once more.

* * *

Pleasantly although concerningly, Ragna had woken up on his own. While by no means well rested he took solace in the fact that he wasn't woken up by a guard or, even worse, Hayes. He shifted slightly as he opened his eyes, doing his best to loosen up his body which was accompanied by a few unnatural popping noises which in turn made Celistia begin to stir. Remembering the events from last night, Ragna did his best to grab her attention. Opening her eyes, she gave him an irritated glance but it faded instantly as he nudged her Sword Device over to her.

"Wait." she said, still in a bit of shock. "How did you you-?"

"I got a visitor last night." Ragna said hurriedly, grimacing at the girl's parting words. "Hold on. Don't you think it's a bit quiet?"

"Yeah. Something feels off."

As if in response, the entire building began to shake. Shouting came from down the hall, causing the two of them two panic. Celistia, thanks to the pressure of the situation and the quaking, fumbled with her own Sword Device as the sound of footsteps drew nearer.

"I found them!" a male voice came from the corridor.

Ragna's blood ran cold as he thought that they had hit a dead end. However the men that ran to them were wearing Drag-Knight combat uniforms. As a few flooded the cell instead of grabbing them and securing them they unlocked their chains and inspected them for wounds. Looking at their uniforms, the insignia of the New Empire was displayed on the suits. Without warning, the back of the crowd began to part ways as none other than Lisesharte burst through and flung her arms around Ragna, followed shortly by Krulcifer and Relie.

"I'm glad you two are safer." Relie smiled towards the students.

"Hey, hey. I know I'm fine." Ragna said irritably as he tried to pry Lisesharte off of him only for her to look up at him and give him a teasing smile.

"I'd appreciate it if you'd get off of my fiance." Krulcifer interjected, getting between the two, causing the two to break into a playful argument. Despite this, Ragna smiled.

 _You know, I kind of missed this. Oh god, why did I miss this?!_

"How did you find us anyways?" Celistia asked as she turned towards Relie.

"We trailed a suspicious looking carriage here." Relie said as she was communicating back and forth with some unknown recipient. "After we heard you two had vanished we had a hunch that it say of had to do something with that carriage."

"Glad you came." Ragna cut in. "But was it really necessary to bring the military?"

"They didn't come here for a rescue mission." Lisesharte said matter-of-factly. "They came here to attack this base but-."

"There's no one here, right?" Celistia said in an attempt to confirm her and Ragna's suspicions to which the princess merely nodded.

Another quake shook the structure as the comms lit up. All of the soldiers quickly filed out and returned to the surface leaving only the students and Relie to follow. The shaking stopped momentarily before a shockwave knocked the group to their feet.

"4th Battalion what is your status?" Relie shouted.

"Ma'am, you might want to get up here fast." a static-ridden voice came through. "I think they've just woken Ragnarok."

 **So first off, I owe you guys an apology. It sucks because I swear this happens every time I post a new chapter. While I can't promise frequent or even consistent updates, I can promise that I will continue writing. Anyways, this chapter was light on action because well... thats all next chapter is gonna be. I'm trying to revise a few things and will probably go back and edit older chapters to keep them in line with my current style. Once again, I** **apologize for this and I appreciate all of the people who are willing to put up with me.**


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